Mangaluru: Puttur Town Police have nabbed an interstate thief in connection with various theft casess reported in Puttur, Udupi, Kushalnagar and Palakkad.
The arrested is Thangaraju alias Raju, 64, a native of Kerala.
Addressing media here on Sunday, SP Bhushan G Borase said seven houset theft cases in Puttur, 28 in Udupi, one in Kushalnagar and ten in Palakkad were registered against the accused. Also, a complaint was registered against him in Chennai Central Police Station in 1988, he added.
He said the accused was involved in a series of break-ins and theft of valuables in Puttur between January and May. On May 20, the police found a man behaving in a suspicious manner, holding a plastic bag near Shivanagara Cross and he tried to flee looking at the police jeep. But was caught. He has stolen gold, silver and other valuable articles from houses in Darbhe, Bolvaru, Parladka, Mukrampadi and Tenkila, he added. He said an iron rod and a torch light have been seized from the accused.
Thangaraju was produced before the court and the court has handed him over to police custody for 14 days. The stolen gold and silver articles have been seized from Erode in Tamil Nadu, Thiroor and Calicut in Kerala, Hosagurda in Kasargod where he resides. Hidden articles were also seized from various places in Mangaluru and Puttur. The articles, sold to various jewellers, were also seized, he noted.
The seized articles include 230.24 gm gold worth Rs 6,20,000, 2.285 kg silver worth Rs 80,000 and two saris. The total value of all stolen items is Rs 7 lakh. Still more valuables are to be seized, he said.
The SP said the accused searched for locked houses during daytime and broke into them at night. In every case, theft took place on Saturday night as the families go out for a vacation during weekends, he stated.
The investigating team comprised Abdul Khader, Nagarah H E, Skariya M A, Prashanth Shetty and Sharif Nadaf Sab. The team was led by ASP, Puttur, Rithyanth.
The SP has recommended the department to give away a reward of Rs 25,000 to the investigating team. Borase said the people should instal central door locks to their houses and inform the nearby police station when they are away from the houses for a long time so the night beat constables can keep a vigil.
Burglar alarm should be fixed in the houses, he added. The SP said installation of dummy CCTV cameras is not recommended. The people should keep their jewels in bank lockers, he advised.