'Burglar' who targeted homes with unattended newspapers caught

Police have arrested an alleged burglar who targeted locked homes after finding newspapers lying unattended on their doorsteps for days together.

Jalahalli police said Srinivas alias Appu, 42, from Bhuvaneshwari Nagar, Hebbal, had burgled homes by breaking their locks with an iron rod. He was picked up for questioning on December 3 after patrolmen found him loitering aimlessly near a jewellery shop on MES Road. When they searched him, they found gold jewellery in his possession. Asked where did he get the jewellery, he failed to give a convincing answer, police said.

Patrolmen took him to the police station where he was questioned intensely. He later told the police about the burglaries.

Police further said that Srinivas he was a habitual offender, and have recovered 343 grams of gold and 235 grams of silver ornaments, all worth Rs 14 lakh, from him. The Central Crime Branch (CCB) had arrested him in September 2019 and booked him for 14 burglaries. He, however, got bail in June this year and went back the old way.

His latest arrest has solved burglaries reported from Jnanabharathi, Mahalakshmi Layout and Nandini Layout police station limits, police said.