 "Delhi man took over 200 flights, stole passengers' jewellery worth lakhs")
Delhi Police arrested a man who took over 200 flights to steal jewellery and other valuables last year from passengers. The perpetrator was identified as a 40-year-old man named Rajesh Kapoor. He stole items worth lakhs before he was apprehended.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI), Usha Ranganai, held a press conference at Delhi's IGI airport and said that police arrested Kapoor from the national capital's Paharganj area where he allegedly kept his stolen items
Rangnani said that Kapoor's role came into the limelight after two separate theft cases in the past three months. In one case, a woman travelling from Hyderabad to Delhi on April 11 claimed that her 7 lakh worth of jewellery was stolen from her handbag. In another case, a man from the United States said that he lost his valuables worth Rs 20 lakh which got stolen from his cabin baggage, NDTV reported.
A special team was formed to catch the accused. Police scanned hours of footage to investigate and zero in on Kapoor who shared his fake mobile number while booking tickets to avoid detection.
Rangnani said that during investigations, CCTV footage from the national capital, the Amritsar airport and the flight manifests were analysed. The suspect was shortlisted as he was seen on both flights where the theft incident was reported.
How did Kapoor steal jewellery worth lakhs?
Kapoor took flights all over the country and targeted passengers who took connecting flights. He mostly targeted women and elderly passengers, followed them and read the information available on baggage declaration slips.
He recognised the tendency of such passengers who carry such valuables in their handbags, so he strategically travelled in premium domestic flights, i.e., Air India and Vistara, which are bound for destinations such as Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Delhi, the officer revealed.
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Once Kapoor shortlists his target, he requests the airline to change his seat so that he can sit next to that passenger. He then pretends he is adjusting his bags in the overhead compartment and ultimately steals valuables from his target cabin's bag. Kapoor also leveraged the benefit of the natural hustle and bustle during the boarding process to carry out his thefts.
Police arrested the suspect from Paharganj, where he ran a hotel. He also revealed that he would sell the jewellery to a jeweller and his name is Sharad Jain neighbouring Karol Bagh. Jain, 46, is also arrested.
Rajesh travelled for over 110 days and changed more than 200 flights in the past year to commit thefts. Once detained, Kapoor confessed his involvement in five such cases, which included Hyderabad, the police said. He also revealed that he used to spend most of his cash through online and offline gambling.
To evade detection, Kapoor often book tickets under the name of his dead brother's name to protect his identity from both airlines and law enforcement agencies.