A married couple was arrested by the Shivajinagar police for allegedly spiking the food of another woman and rendering her unconscious only to take away her jewellery worth around `2 lakh. Late in April, the accused had taken her to a godman promising her that he would recover `50,000, which a borrower hadn’t returned. The fake godman has also been arrested. The police custody of the accused was also extended on Tuesday.
The victim Ishrat Jahan Mohammed Shaikh knew the accused Abid Sayyad and his wife Reshma as they lived in the same locality at Shivajinagar in Govandi. According to the victim’s statement, on April 24, the two came to her house and began chatting when she told them about a man named Sakur, who had failed to return `50,000, which he had borrowed a few months ago.
“The two claimed they will help me retrieve the money with help from a godman. We then went to Ram Mandir Chowk in an auto where Abid suggested we have some ice-cream. After eating, we proceeded to the residence of Abdul Qayam Shaikh (38), the godman. There too, we had some snacks and left after a few hours. While in the auto during our way back, I felt dizzy and passed out, only to wake up at Shatabdi Hospital. My brother Zulfikar told me I was found in an unconscious state near the Jain Mandir area around 11 pm. My gold chain and other jewellery was also missing,” read her statement.
A complaint was filed on April 25, following which Shaikh was arrested the next day, but the couple went absconding. “They kept changing their locations. The two were held on Saturday from the Jain Mandir area in a trap and subsequently placed under arrest. We produced them in court on Tuesday to seek an extension of their police custody, which granted an additional two days,” said API Shivaji Auti.