Asif Rizvi (MID-DAY; July 25, 2017)

The Khar police on Monday evening arrested a carpenter in connection with a theft at actor Karisma Kapoor’s Pali Hill residence earlier this month. The accused, identified as Imtiyaz Ansari, 34, has several cases registered against him and has confessed to committing 18 offences of similar nature in the recent past.

Sources said, on July 8, Ansari had managed to enter the house of the actor while she was away and her maid was at home. Ansari had called on the landline of her residence and stated that he had been called for some carpentry job. On gaining entry into the house, he managed to flee with a purse which had several ATM cards and some cash. The maid had then filed an FIR against him at Khar police station.

While investigating the matter, Inspector Dinesh Kadam found that as many as five similar complaints, using the same modus operandi, were registered at Khar police station.

The cops got their main lead when they learnt of Ansari trying to withdraw cash from an ATM using the stolen card. It was then that the cops got his location and CCTV footage, which led them to his home in Kurla from where he was arrested, the police said.

Deputy police commissioner, Zone 9, Paramjit Singh Dahiya said, “As of now, the accused has confessed to 18 offences. He is in police custody till July 26 and investigations are going on to identify the number of offences he has committed."