Siliguri, 27th July: A thief managed to steal cash and a mobile phone from a grocery shop in Gurung Basti market of Siliguri, by tricking the elderly woman attending the shop. The young man pretended to be a customer and engaged the elderly woman in conversation, requesting her to fetch various items from the store. While she was occupied with the task, the thief took advantage of the situation and stole cash from the shop’s cash box and the mobile phone that was on charge.
Upon the woman’s return with the requested items, the young man claimed he had forgotten to bring the money and said he would be back with it. Using this ruse, he quickly made his escape. Later, when the woman’s son arrived to collect the mobile phone, it was nowhere to be found. Reviewing the CCTV footage from the shop, the entire theft incident came to light.
The Pradhan Nagar police station was immediately notified about the incident, and the police promptly arrived at the scene to initiate an investigation. With the assistance of the local community, the thief was apprehended from Junction in the evening. The accused will be presented before the Siliguri court on Friday. During interrogation, the young man confessed that he committed the theft to fund his drug habit. The police are conducting a thorough investigation into the entire incident.