Delhi Airport: Man Takes 200 Flights In A Year, Steals Co-Passengers' Jewelleries Worth Lakhs; In Police Custody Now

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police, IGI, Usha Rangnani, the accused, identified as 40-year-old Rajesh Kapoor, was arrested from Paharganj, where he allegedly kept the stolen pieces of jewellery. It has also been revealed that Kapoor was planning to sell them to Sharad Jain, 46, who has also been arrested from Karol Bagh.

Outlook Web Desk

Updated on: 14 May 2024 3:28 pm

Representational Image Photo: PTI

Delhi Police on Monday took into custody a 40-year-old man for allegedly stealing jewellery and other valuables from the handbags of co-passengers on various flights, officials said. According to police, the accused, identified as Rajesh Kapoor, boarded at least 200 flights and travelled for more than 110 days during the past year to commit thefts.

Flight theft: What all did the police say?

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police, IGI, Usha Rangnani, the accused was arrested from Paharganj, where he allegedly kept the stolen jewellery. It has also been revealed that Kapoor was planning to sell them to Sharad Jain, 46, who has also been arrested from Karol Bagh.

Rangnani further added that two separate cases of thefts were reported on separate flights in the past three months, after which a dedicated team from the IGI Airport was formed to nab the culprits.

As per reports, on April 11, a case was reported where a passenger lost her jewellery worth Rs 7 lakh while travelling from Hyderabad to Delhi while the other one was reported on February 2, where a passenger had lost jewellery items worth Rs 20 lakh while he was travelling from Amritsar to Delhi.

How was the accused caught?

In a press conference, Rangnani said the accused could be traced after analysing all the CCTV footage from Delhi and Amritsar airports following which, a suspect was shortlisted as he was seen on both flights on which theft incidents were reported. The phone number of the suspected passenger was obtained from the airlines concerned.

However, later it came to light that Kapoor had provided a fake number at the time of booking. Only following technical surveillance, his original phone number could be traced, and he was caught.

During interrogation, the accused confessed to being involved in five such cases of theft, including one in Hyderabad, the police said. He disclosed that he spent most of the cash on online and offline gambling.

As per reports, Kapoor's name has been associated with 11 cases of theft, gambling and criminal breach of trust, out of which five cases were of airports.