A notorious property offender who was involved in as many as 45 cases was arrested by the city police here on Tuesday, along with three other persons who acted as receivers. Four special teams from the West Crime Sub-Division have nabbed the 35-year old accused, nearly after 15 days of investigation.
The main accused was identified as S Anil Kumar (35) of Sivajipalem, and the others were his friend T. Lakshmana Rao (49), his mother S Ramani (50) and his brother G Gurumurthy (39). The police have recovered 181 grams of gold ornaments and 250 grams of silver from him which was worth about ₹5.80 lakh.
Addressing a press conference here, Police Commissioner C.M. Trivikrama Varma said that in the early hours of May 6 a house break-in was reported in a flat belonging to a doctor from Vasavi Paradise Apartments near NAD Junction. The crime occurred when the inmates were present in the house. Based on the complaint, the police registered a case and started the investigation. Acting on a tip-off, the police suspected a person from Sivajipalem area committed the theft, Mr. Trivikrama Varma said.
‘Convicted in 17 cases’
“We found that the suspect Anil Kumar was already involved in 45 cases (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana) in which he was convicted in about 17 cases . He was released from the Karimnagar Jail on April 18, this year,” the Police Commissioner said.
Mr. Trivikrama Varma said that after release from the jail, Anil Kumar had gone to Medak and committed a two-wheeler theft. Then he had reached Visakhapatnam and committed the crime after conducting recce.
‘Will not use mobile phone’
Explaining the modus operandi of the accused, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crimes) G Naganna said that Anil conducts recee and targets locked houses in the night. He does not carry any weapon or tools. He goes with bare hands and opens the doors with the support of anything at the crime scene. After committing the crime, he gives the stolen property to his family members to sell them. With the money gained, he leads a lavish life, he said.
“What makes him different from the other property offenders is that, Anil does not use mobile phone. Whenever he needs to talk to his family members, he uses mobile phone of strangers, requesting them that he lost his mobile phone and wants to talk with his family. So, we cannot trace him through mobile,” Mr. Naganna said.
The DCP said, “During the entire day, Anil spends his time in air-conditioned movie theatres. He watches movies and then sleeps there. Our four teams of police have worked for almost 15 days to catch him. We narrowly missed catching him once.”
Mr. Trivikrama Varma said that the police would take legal opinion to invoke P.D Act against Anil, since he has been a repeat offender. “We will also verify whether he had committed any more offences apart from the registered 45 cases. His pictures will be circulated to the police in all stations,” the Police Commissioner said. He appreciated West Sub Division crimes Inspector K. Durga Prasad and his team for the efforts.
