Rajkot: Now, whether this Surat father-son duo was inspired by the real life shenanigans of Devinder Singh alias Bunty, the real-life Delhi-based master-thief, or if Bollywood actor Abhay Deol’s rendition of the slippery character on silver screen with ‘Oye Lucky’ motivated them, it will be known only after cops dig into their dirty past.
But on the face of it, Anand alias Jayanti Sitapara too never settled for anything less than what provided him a lavish living — from posh villas to fast cars and glitzy baubles — the ‘millionaire thief’ and his son Hasmukh set the bar high for cat burglars.
However, the show came to an end after law caught up with them in their sprawling bungalow in Surat’s Palsana road on Tuesday.
Anand and Hasmukh were arrested on the admission of their accomplice Piyush Amreliya who spilled the beans on the duo after he got caught in a theft of a house in Ramkrishnanagar where they stole valuables worth Rs 9 lakh including cash. Amreliya was nabbed 20 days ago after his face was captured in the CCTV footage.
Cops seized gold jewellery worth Rs 10.5 lakh, Rs 1.25 lakh in cash, watches worth Rs 7,000 and two bikes from Anand’s bungalow. It also came to light that the man had booked a car for his son which was soon to be delivered.
Their modus operandi was simple — Amreliya would recce the targeted house first before informing Anand if it was an easy break-in. Anand and his son would then travel to Rajkot for the act, and while Amreliya would keep vigil, the father-son duo would commit the burglary.
Police suspect that the gang may have targeted more than a dozen houses in some of the posh societies of Rajkot including Dharmjeevan, Ambaji Kadva plot, Jairaj plot, Indraprasthnagar, Prahlad plot among many others in the last nine months.
“So far we have received only one complaint, but are expecting more victims to come forward and lodge their complaints,” said inspector V K Gadhavi of detection of crime branch.