Wanted burglar ‘Bombay Saleem’ wears police uniform in hotel room, makes video call to his wife; Bengaluru cop in soup

BENGALURU: A constable was suspended after a burglary accused made a video call to his wife while in custody after wearing a police uniform. The policeman, who accompanied the accused to make a recovery after his arrest last year, had left the uniform in a hotel room.Deputy commissioner of police (East) D Devaraja said the incident came to light recently after Indiranagar police arrested Saleem alias Sheik Saleem alias Bombay Saleem, from Mumbai in connection with another case.The constable, HR Sonar from Govindapura police station, was part of the team that accompanied Saleem to the outskirts of the city. Saleem, who was lodged in a hotel room where Sonar left his uniform, wore it and spoke to his wife. The call was recorded, and the incriminating video was discovered on the accused's mobile phone after his recent arrest."We were scanning his phone when we came across the video. We discovered that Govindapura police had arrested Saleem last year and a team took him to the spot city for recovery of booty," said DCP Devaraja.Saleem is wanted in more than 50 cases, mostly of house burglaries, in Maharashtra and Karnataka. In 2021, Saleem was booked for making extortion calls to businessmen while being lodged at Bengaluru Central Prison in connection to a house break-in case. Mobile phones, ganja, sim cards, and other materials were recovered from Saleem and his associates.