A 40-year-old man was arrested by the Delhi Police for stealing jewelry and other costly items in different flights from the bags of co-passengers.
Delhi Police informed that the person named Rajesh Kapoor travelled more than 110 days in almost 200 flights in last couple of months to execute and accomplish his plan.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Usha Rangnani stated at a press conference at the IGI airport in Delhi that the man had been arrested from Paharganj where he had stored all the items from the theft. He was expected to sell all the items to Sharad Jain, 46, who had also been arrested from Karol Bagh.
Rangnani also said that in the past three months, two separate cases of thefts were filed on separate flights which led to the formation of a team from IGI Airport to catch the culprits.
The theft case reported on February 2 stated that the person had lost his jewellery items worth Rs 20 lakhs during his flight from Amritsar to Delhi. Another case was filed on April 11 where a passenger lost her jewellery worth Rs seven lakhs while she was traveling from Hyderabad to Delhi.
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“During investigations, CCTV footage from Delhi and Amritsar airports and the flight manifests were analyzed”, said Rangnani.
A suspect who was observed on both the flights during which thefts occurred was identified, according to the officer.
The officer mentioned that the airline companies provided the suspected passenger’s phone number, but he had given a false number during booking. Through technical surveillance, Kapoor’s actual phone number was located, leading to his apprehension.
Upon further questioning, he admitted to his involvement in five similar cases, including one in Hyderabad, as per the police. He revealed that he had used most of the stolen money for gambling activities, both online and offline.
To hide his identity from the airline and be safe from police agencies, Kapoor booked tickets in his dead brother’s name.
The officer explained that Kapoor took advantage of the hectic boarding process to discreetly search through overhead compartments, meticulously choosing and stealing valuables from unaware passengers’ handbags as they settled into their seats.
He further mentioned that Kapoor sometimes changed his seat on the airline to sit near his chosen target after identifying them. This method, strategically timed to align with the distractions of boarding, enabled him to carry out his activities without being noticed.
According to another police official, Kapoor specifically targeted vulnerable passengers, especially elderly women on international flights.
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“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,” the officer said.
Kapoor was discovered to be connected to 11 instances involving theft, gambling, and criminal breach of trust, with five of them occurring at airports.
