How Facebook helped Mumbai police catch a thief who fled three years ago

A man accused in connection with a case of motor vehicle theft in 2014 was savvy enough to change his identity and lay low to avoid being detected. How did cops finally nab him? They looked for him on Facebook.

Police said the accused, Saddam Usman Khan, had been hiding in Nalasopara for the past three years. Investigating officers had searched his former residence in Tardeo and had run out of leads. None of Khan’s friends and relatives could provide police with information about his whereabouts, said an officer from the Tardeo police who did not wish to be identified.

“The Girgaum court had ordered us to speed up our inquiry and nab Khan quickly,” he added.

Police finally turned to Facebook and started searching for him with the help of photos that his friends provided.

“Khan had uploaded photos of his new look to his Facebook profile. We circulated these photographs to our informers, who told us that they spotted him Uswal Nagri in Nalasopara,” added an officer.

Police formed two teams and laid a trap outside his building.“We showed Khan’s picture to Uswal Nagri residents, who told us the name of his building. We nabbed him at the gate of his building,” added an officer.

Khan was booked under section 379 (punishment for theft) of the Indian Penal Code. He was produced in court and remanded in police custody.