How Delhi Police Tracked Man Who Took 200 Flights in 110 Days to Steal Jewellery Worth Lakhs

New Delhi: A gambling addict who decoded a new way for committing thefts, that too mid-air, landed in trouble after police spotted him in two separate CCTV footages of the Delhi-bound flights on which he stole passengers' valuables. The footage served as the main lead that led to his arrest from the Paharganj area in the national capital. 

Investigations have revealed that the accused, identified as Rajesh Kapoor, boarded as many as 200 flights and travelled for over 110 days during the past year to commit thefts. News agency PTI citing Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI) Usha Rangnani reported Kapoor had allegedly stored the stolen jewellery in Paharganj. 

Police said that the accused had planned to sell the valuables to one Sharad Jain (46) who was also nabbed from Karol Bagh.

How the Events Unfolded

The web of his crime was detangled following complaints by the victim passengers. Police said that in the past three months, two cases of thefts were reported on separate flights , prompting them to form a team to probe the matter.  

The case was reported on April 11 after a passenger traveling from Hyderabad on a Delhi-bound plane lost her jewellery worth Rs 7 lakh
The second case of theft was reported on another Delhi-bound plane on February 2 after a passenger had lost ornaments worth Rs 20 lakh while he was travelling from Amritsar. 

Police added that CCTVs at both Delhi and Amritsar airports were examined, which provided them with a major clue as the accused was seen on both the flights when the thefts were reported. After he was shortlisted, police tried contacting him via call but to no avail as he had furnished the wrong contact number to concerned airlines at the time of booking flight tickets. After technical surveillance, Kapoor's original phone number was traced and he was nabbed.
During interrogation, he admitted to being involved in five such cases, including one in Hyderabad, the police said. He also revealed of being addicted to gambling, both online and offline. He said he spent most of the cash on gambling. 

Modus Operandi

Later, it came to light that Kapoor was involved in 11 cases of theft, gambling and criminal breach of trust, out of which five cases were of airport.
Revealing the modus operandi of the accused, police said that Kapoor would target vulnerable passengers, particularly elderly women who would travel internationally. 

"Recognising the tendency of such passengers to carry valuables in their handbags, he strategically travelled in premium domestic flights, notably Air India and Vistara, bound for destinations like Delhi, Chandigarh, and Hyderabad," news agency PTI quoted another police officer as saying. 

Taking advantage of the chaos during boarding, Kapoor would secretly rifle through passengers’ handbags after assessing the victims, cops said.
Many times he had also gotten his seats changed to sit near the victims, to target them. 

Kapoor even used his deceased brother’s name to book his tickets in order to shield his identity.