Mumbai: A 43-year-old security manager has been arrested for allegedly stealing 261 Indian Premier League (IPL) jerseys worth Rs 6.52 lakh from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) office premises located at the Wankhede Stadium.
The bizarre theft came to light after an internal board audit flagged missing inventory, police said on Tuesday.
Upon checking CCTV footage, Wankhede staff spotted accused Farooque Aslam Khan Khan carrying a large cardboard box out of the official merchandise store of BCCI on June 13, raising immediate suspicion.
A complaint was filed at Marine Drive police station on July 17.
Farooque, a resident of Mira Road, was arrested a few days ago after being booked under relevant sections of theft and criminal breach of trust, and is currently out on bail.
Farooque allegedly stole jerseys of IPL 2025 – costing Rs 2,500 each — and sold many of them online.
Police investigation revealed that Farooque had sold the stolen jerseys to an online dealer based in Haryana, whom he contacted via social media.
The security person reportedly told the dealer that the jerseys were being offloaded as part of a ‘stock clearance sale’ due to renovation work at the BCCI office.
“The dealer claims he had no idea the jerseys were stolen,” a police official involved in the investigation said.
Only 50 of the 261 jerseys have been recovered so far.
