In a major breakthrough, Malad Police in Mumbai have arrested a notorious and elusive thief known as ‘Shehzade Chor’, who had been disguising himself as a woman to commit thefts and escape police detection.
The accused has been identified as Ranjeet Kumar Upendra, alias Munna (44), a native of Babuganj, Bihar. He was finally caught in the Malvani area of Malad, Mumbai, after evading law enforcement for years.
According to ACP Hemant Sawant, Ranjeet was infamous for his clever disguises—wearing women’s clothing, gloves, scarves, and sometimes even dressing as a beggar to move along railway tracks, carefully avoiding CCTV surveillance.
During the arrest, police recovered:
A gold melting machine
36 tolas of gold and silver jewelry
Cash
Women’s clothing used as disguises
In total, property worth Rs57 lakh was seized. Additionally, Rs16 lakh in cash held in his bank accounts was frozen, and Rs41 lakh worth of jewelry and valuables was confiscated.
Despite his criminal lifestyle, Ranjeet reportedly owns multiple bungalows and flats, pointing to the scale of his theft operations. So far, eight cases have been registered against him.
A special police team comprising officers Tushar Sukhadeve, Santosh Satwase, Amit Gawand, Avinash Jadhav, and Havildar Mahesh Doifode reviewed footage from over 150 CCTV cameras, including those installed near railway tracks, to finally track and apprehend the thief.
Senior officer Vijay Panhale confirmed that further investigation is ongoing to trace his criminal network and other possible accomplices.
