South Mumbai restaurant manager booked for stealing 50 liquor bottles, sushi knives, eatables

Tardeo police on Thursday booked the manager of a south Mumbai restaurant for allegedly stealing 50 bottles of liquor, a set of sushi knives, a microwave oven, and eatables including butter and cheese.

Police said the incident came to light, when the complainant Aftab Iqbal Moon, owner of the restaurant Keiba located at Mahalaxmi Racecourse, paid a surprise visit to the eatery that was shut since the nationwide lockdown was imposed. The complainant claimed several valuables were missing from the restaurant and on enquiring with the watchman he found that the manager, Jackson John, had taken the liquor bottles and other goods. The owner informed his two partners about the theft and subsequently contacted John, police said.

“He (John) answered the phone initially and when they asked about the theft, could not give any satisfactory reply. He then switched off his phone,” said an officer.

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The owners then approached Tardeo police, where a case was registered under IPC section 381 (theft by clerk or servant of property in possession of master).

Senior police inspector Firoz Bagwan of Tardeo police station said, “Owing to the situation caused by the Covid-19, people are on the lookout for food and alcohol. In this case, the manager ignored the cash, which was there in the restaurant, and walked away with other eatables, liquor bottles and other valuables.”

The investigators said they are trying to locate the suspect using his call data record.