Cellphone thief's dream run ends on 20th attempt

Nashik: Mangesh Baburao Vazat would have been blissfully unaware of the fact that he had been robbed of 19 cellphones worth Rs.4,38 lakh by one of his employees if not for a CCTV camera.
Sagar Ravindra Kharote, a 24-year-old resident of jail road, has been accused of discreetly stealling 19 cellphones from over a period of six months while attending to customers.But his attempt at pocketing the 20th cellphone landed him behind the bars.
Vazat (43), who caught the youth stealing on camera, was shocked when the police told him that it was not the only phone recovered from the accused, but there were 19 more totally worth Rs4.38 lakh.
This incident of shoplifting, however, is not an isolated one. A mobile shop owner at M G road claimed that he caught a young doctor for lifting four mobile phones worth Rs 22, 000 from his shop in six months. Though the shop owner in this case did not file charges against the doctor as he recovered his goods after and did not want to jeopardise the career of the young medic.
"He took advantage of being a regular customer and allegedly slipped phones in his pocket under the pretext of checking out different phone models. When the police were informed, he admitted stealing the phones and returned them," the owner said on condition of anonymity.
But it is not only the cell phone shops that are being targeted, the shop lifters in the city seem to have developed a penchant for small items like key chains, gift items, chocolates and biscuits. They usually get away with the crimes too as victims avoid approaching police for petty items.
Kamlesh Bhimjiyani a supermarket owner said, "Women, men and youngsters are often found indulging in shop lifting. On many occasions, cosmetic items are stolen from boxes, chocolates are slipped into pockets while biscuits are unwrapped in the shop right under the nose of salesmen."
He added that staff is being told to be vigilant and accompany suspicious customers. " CCTV cameras also act as deterrent, however, 1% of goods are shop lifted every month. Another safety measure is to ensure that billing counters have been programmed with weight of items which guarantees that no un-billed items are tucked away inside the shopping bag."
"Such customers are often warned when caught red-handed going to the police over such a petty matter consumes too much time ," Bhimjiyani added.
Another super market owner at Gangapur road said, "It is only after a wrapper is seen or items are found missing in the itinerary that we come to know that some thing is missing. There is no option other than to suffer the loss."
Mangal Singh a manager with a gift shop at college road said there are at least four cases of shoplifting every week. "Key chains, small diaries, stationary and other gift items are pocketed by college going youngsters. It is not that they indulge in the act because they don't have the money, They may make purchases of thousands but are prone to pocketing petty Rs 100 items".
Assistant commissioner of police (crime), Sachin Gore said, "complaints of mobile lifting are treated as thefts and more traders come forward as it involves heavy financial loss. However, no complaint has been received from supermarkets and other shops."
Psychologist Sarita Pagare said that such behaviour, when both both deliberate and psychological, is termed Kleptomania. There is a compulsive urge to steal.
"In such cases the person cannot focus on whether they can afford an item or actually need it, instead the theft is a result of a psychological need," she said.