Armed with key making machine, Bengaluru burglar targeted vacant houses while posing as food delivery agent: police
The Bengaluru city police said on Tuesday that they solved 13 cases of theft after the arrest of a 39-year-old man with a criminal history spanning nearly a decade. They also seized gold ornaments of 546 g from him.
The police identified the accused as Balaji Prakash alias Khan, a resident of Cottonpet. 'We have seized 138 duplicate keys and valuables worth Rs 75 lakh from the accused. He had stolen 779 g of gold ornaments and 100 g of silver ornaments between June 13 and June 24,' said Seemanth Kumar Singh, Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru.
Balaji, a habitual offender, was released from prison one and a half years ago and was living with his wife, a police officer said. However, it was hard to trace him as he operated alone, did not use mobile phones, and frequently changed houses, the police officer added.
According to the police, Balaji used to carry duplicate and master keys with him and ride a two-wheeler wearing a Swiggy or Zomato shirt. 'He used to go and knock on the doors of the houses for one or two minutes, if someone responded, he would leave, saying it was a wrong address but if they didn't, he would enter the house with the help of duplicate keys. He took less than five minutes to open the doors,' the officer said.
The police said Balaji surveyed neighbourhoods during the day, especially residential areas in Hanumanthanagar, Chamarajpet, and other parts of South Bengaluru, identifying houses that appeared unoccupied. He used a Honda Dio scooter with a fake number plate to move around.
'We found that he used to spend money to lead a lavish life, more towards online gambling and betting. He also owns a sophisticated key making machine. Besides his family, he does not have friends but all the gold ornaments he used to sell to one man named Rajeev, who also has been arrested in the case. He did not use mobile phones, which made the case challenging,' the police officer said.
A burglary case was reported on May 25 at the Madiwala police station in which the victim had left behind the key in a door and Balaji allegedly made away with valuables.
The police officer said Balaji's arrest was based on clues from CCTV footage and patterns of recent burglaries.
According to the police, Balaji started stealing when he was a minor boy.
(Bhoomika Roy Banerjee is an intern with The Indian Express)
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