The Hebbal police on Tuesday arrested a man who would allegedly follow homemakers and click photos of the keys they were holding to make duplicates and steal from their houses.
Using this modus operandi, the accused had burgled over 14 houses and looted ₹59 lakh worth gold and silver articlesfor 13 years.Luck ran out for him when he was caught red-handed inside the house when the woman returned home early after dropping her son to school a few days ago.He was handed over to the police who took him into custody for detailed investigations.
The accused has been identified as Murali P., 42, a resident of Kaval Byrsandra, who was a salesman at a private firm and worked for a few years before he quit the job to take up house break work full time.
Chidanand M. Gadag, Inspector, Hebbal police station, who probed the case, said that the accused would follow the women who were going to drop their children to school. He would zero in on his target based on the clothes and gold they were wearing and follow them closely before clicking the picture of the house keys which they generally held in their hands. The accused had also purchased a duplicate key making machine for his house and reccee the targeted house for a few days before gaining entry with duplicate keys.
Based on his confession, the police have arrested his associate Shivaram, who was disposing the stolen booty and getting him money. The police recovered 1,132 grams of gold valuables and 1,210 grams of silver articles worth ₹59 lakh from him.Murali was living with his wife and children in a rented house and spent the money lavishly, the police said.
With his arrest, the police managed to detect 14 house breaks and bike thefts reported in and around the division. The accused is suspected to have been involved in more offences and investigations are on to ascertain details, Vinayak Patil, DCP, north division, said.
