A magistrate's court in Mumbai has convicted and sentenced a 27-year-old man to three years of rigorous imprisonment for breaking into a home in Andheri and stealing gold jewellery valued at nearly Rs 5 lakh. This case represents one of the early convictions under the newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The Break-In and Theft in Andheri West
The incident occurred at the residence of Sadaf Inamdar in Farukh Peter Chawl, Gavdevi Dongar, Andheri (West), between the night of November 20 and the morning of November 21, 2024. Sadaf and her husband, both employees at Sahar Airport, returned home to find their door lock broken. Upon checking, they discovered that a gold mangalsutra weighing about 40 grams and gold earrings weighing 5 grams, together worth Rs 4.80 lakh, were missing. Sadaf informed the court she had taken out the ornaments and kept them in the kitchen while preparing for a trip to Pune.
Investigation, Arrest, and Recovery of Stolen Jewellery
Following a complaint by Sadaf Inamdar, an FIR was registered at the DN Nagar Police Station on November 21, 2024. The investigation was led by API Sunit Ghadge, who arrested two accused individuals—Fardeen Firdos Khan (27) and Juber Karim Mulla Khan (48)—on November 22, 2024. A charge sheet was later filed on January 30, 2025.
The prosecution's case was significantly strengthened when, while in police custody, Fardeen Khan led officials to the recovery of the stolen mangalsutra. On November 24, 2024, he took the police and a panch witness to his locked house in Powai. There, he retrieved a key hidden under a brick and recovered a bag containing the gold mangalsutra from a concealed spot between an iron angle and a tin sheet. The magistrate found this discovery "convincingly established" by the prosecution.
Court's Verdict and Sentencing Under BNS
Judicial Magistrate First Class SG Agrawal presided over the case. The court noted that the fact of housebreaking and theft was uncontested, as the victim's testimony and the spot panchnama were not challenged by the defense. Applying legal principles, the magistrate held that a person found in possession of recently stolen property is presumed to be the thief unless they can account for it.
Fardeen Firdos Khan was found guilty under section 331(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which prescribes a sentence that can extend up to 14 years for such offences. However, considering the circumstances, Magistrate Agrawal deemed the maximum sentence "too harsh" and sentenced Khan to three years of rigorous imprisonment. Having been in custody since his arrest, this period will count toward his sentence.
Due to a lack of corroborative evidence linking him directly to the crime, the co-accused, Juber Karim Mulla Khan, was acquitted. He had been released on bail earlier on March 27, 2025.
