The Hindu : Front Page : Capital’s master burglar lands in police net

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 11, 2007
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Capital’s master burglar lands in police net

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: A young man allegedly involved in over 550 cases of burglary and theft has been arrested by the Special Staff of the South Delhi police. The police claim to have recovered jewellery worth Rs.15 lakh, a car, seven laptops, one kg of charas and other stolen articles from him. An alleged receiver of stolen property has also been arrested.

A close study of a series of burglaries committed using a similar modus operandi in South Delhi’s middle-class localities over the past few years led the police to the conclusion that they were the handiwork of the same person. The culprit used to target locked houses located on or above second floor during daytime.

Suspecting involvement of a notorious burglar, Subhash, who had been evading arrest for well over seven years, the police launched a massive hunt for him. They had come to know about his activities through his former accomplices Shakeel and Sushil two years ago. In some cases, they also found his fingerprints at the scene of the crime.

Following intelligence reports that the man they were after was in Mumbai, a police team was despatched there recently, but it returned to Delhi empty-handed.

Finally, on November 4, the police received a tip-off that Subhash would deliver a consignment of charas to someone on Press Enclave Road in New Delhi. They got him there.

During interrogation that followed, Subhash purportedly disclosed to the police that he was arrested for the first time in a theft case at Kalkaji in South Delhi ten years ago. He was arrested again in an auto-theft case and five motorcycles were allegedly recovered from him. To begin with he committed crime along with Shakeel and Sushil, but for the past two years he had been working alone. He allegedly told the police that he would break the locks and latches of houses using a small iron rod to gain entry.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (South Delhi) Anil Shukla, Subhash committed burglaries between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and targeted houses of mostly working couples. He allegedly disclosed that he chose houses located on or above second floor to make sure that he had ample time to escape if someone entered the building.

“Subhash never committed crime on weekends and gazetted holidays. He prefers stealing jewellery, laptops and watches,” said DCP Shukla, adding that in some cases he would abandon his motorcycle to evade detection. Three such motorcycles were impounded in Vasant Vihar, Defence Colony and Gurgaon.

On November 2, Subhash allegedly broke into a Gautampuri house and stole jewellery worth lakhs and some cash. The same day, he allegedly committed burglary in another house at Jamia. On October 31, he allegedly burgled a Pandav Nagar house and stole jewellery and cash from another house in the same locality.

His interrogation is still under way.

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