The Karnataka Police on Wednesday arrested the elusive burglar who made of with cash, jewellery, mobile phones, and an expensive sports utility vehicle from the “electronically secured and bullet proof glass fortified” home of a businessman here early on January 21 from Tavrakara in Bangalore.
Senior officials here identified the accused as Devinder Singh, an ex-convict who had enjoyed brief fame last year when he participated in a popular television reality show.
A 2008 Hindi film, which was loosely based on his life, had won critical acclaim and enjoyed commercial success. The Koramangala police have taken his custody.
City Police Commissioner P. Vijayan received information from his plainclothesmen that the stolen vehicle had passed Nanguneri tollgate in Thirunelveli taluk in Tamil Nadu and was possibly headed towards the adjacent Krishnagiri district. The registration number on the counterfoil kept at the tollgate matched that of the vehicle stolen from the city.
Mr. Vijayan sought the help of Asok Yadav, District Police Chief, Krishnagiri, to intercept the vehicle. Soon, an armed Tamil Nadu police team staked out at a vantage point on the Krishnagiri-Chennai national highway.
The driver of the suspect vehicle rushed the impromptu police check-point, forcing the Krishnagiri police to give chase.
The powerful SUV helped the driver outrun the police and he hit the Hosur road to Bangalore. By this time, he had switched the vehicle’s Kerala registration plates for Tamil Nadu ones. Subsequently, he abandoned the vehicle and took a taxi from a nearby stand.
The Commissioner’s plainclothes squad located the taxi stand, identified the vehicle the suspect had hired and learned it was headed for Bangalore.
They spoke to the taxi driver on his mobile and alerted him of the situation. Mr. Vijayan alerted his counterpart in Bangalore, who put police check-posts and mobile squads on standby to intercept the “incoming” taxi.
Quoting the Karnataka police, a senior official said the suspect jumped out of the taxi when they intercepted it on the outskirts of Bangalore and escaped after injuring two policemen. The police arrested him subsequently.
