In the early hours of Monday, when the 27-year-old Spanish musician narrated her ordeal to the police, the needle of suspicion immediately pointed to Mohammed Badshah Mohammed Ismail Ansari. Police said his modus operandi had obvious similarities with the manner in which the victim was attacked at her Bandra (West) apartment.

An alleged drug addict known to roll marijuana joints at crime scenes, Ansari shows up prominently in police records as a notorious burglar who has carried out 35 break-ins in Byculla, Bandra, Nagpada and Khar. Case records show that he usually carries a screwdriver to remove window grills.

Police said is one of the few cat burglars who can scale any building using sewage pipes, and is adept at crossing vertical hurdles. He is allegedly known to have “climbed great heights when drunk” to commit burglaries.

Ansari was also booked for executing a burglary at actor Dino Morea’s Bandra residence on October 26 in a similar manner. He had entered Morea’s apartment through a window while the actor was asleep.

According to the police, Ansari, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, married twice. His second marriage was a few days before he committed the burglary at Morea’s house, police said. He lives in Reay Road area at present.

Police said Ansari goes back to committing burglaries once he is released on bail. “He confesses to burglary and surrenders the stolen loot the day we nab him. He is then sent to judicial custody and gets bail,” said an officer.

According to Bandra police, this trait led them to Ansari as he had just been released on bail on October 30. “We detained him soon after the case was reported as the modus operandi matched,” said an officer.

His past criminal record also indicates that most of his cases are in areas between Byculla and Nagpada. Ansari was first caught in 2007, and has been committing thefts since 2006. He started targeting Bandra and Khar in the past few years, where he frequented posh localities looking for possible targets, police said.

A police team on Monday spoke to Ansari’s mother and wife. “His wife said he could commit thefts but not rape. However, our evidence confirms its him,”claimed an officer. “His mother says a she is uneducated, he can’t do anything else but commit thefts to feed them,” he added.

Cops: Accused smoked charas in victim’s flat

The 30-year-old suspect, Mohammed Badshah Mohammed Ismail Ansari, arrested for the rape of Spanish musician, was also booked for burglary. Police, who recorded the statement of the woman, said Ansari took a video camera, a mobile phone, and some cash in euros.

Police said Ansari entered the drawing room of the third-floor apartment through an open window, committed burglary, smoked charas and then entered the bedroom where he saw the woman.

The sequence of events reconstructed by the police reveals that Ansari used drainage pipes to reach the first floor and then the window grills of other flats to reach the victim’s flat. He allegedly looked for gold and cash, but found only a mobile phone, and a video camera on a shelf in the room.

Police said Ansari rolled a joint in the victim’s drawing room and smoked it. He then wandered into the bedroom where he saw her asleep on the bed. She told cops that she woke up on hearing the noise. Ansari ran into the kitchen to grab a knife, and returned to the bedroom. He allegedly raped her and then smoked a second joint in her bedroom.

When he was smoking, the victim tried to run outside the flat, police said. “He dragged her back and forced himself on her again. He then asked her to clean herself. Seizing the opportunity, she said she wanted to use the bathroom. She locked herself in and shouted for help. He was in the house for 45 minutes before he fled,” said a police officer.

How Cops are building case against Ansari

Victim was shown a photograph from Ansari’s earlier records. She said he looked similar.

Police are now trying to match the scratches on his forearms and back. Watchman of a nearby building told police that the accused had sustained injuries after jumping over a 15-ft compound wall. Ansari’s “fresh injuries” are now being used as evidence.

Police have found footprints inside the victim’s residence which will be matched with the accused’s.

The police will be pressing for judicial custody of Ansari, as the victim has expressed a desire to leave the country. “She will need to identify the accused, which we can do only under judicial custody,” said an officer.

Criminal’s way, police say

Accused smoked marijuana at places where he committed crimes

He carried a screwdriver to open window grills in buildings

He could scale highrises with ease when drunk

Once arrested, he confesses to burglaries and surrenders stolen loot