Thief flees by train, police go by flight to catch him in time

In a hot chase, police flew to Kolkata to catch a domestic help who had fled by train after allegedly stealing gold and diamond jewellery from his employer in Bengaluru. Police were waiting for him at the Howrah railway station before the train reached there.

Kailash Das, a native of Burdwan, West Bengal, worked at the house of Rajesh Babu, a builder in JP Nagar, for six years and lived in a loom in the basement. A few days ago, a member of Babu's family was hospitalised after testing positive for Covid-19. On October 9, when the family was busy taking care of the patient, Das allegedly stole an electronic safe containing gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 1.3 crore, and fled to Mysuru, a senior police officer said.

He stayed in a lodge in Mysuru for a few days and tried opening the locker with a screwdriver. He gave up after the screwdriver got stuck in the keyhole. He then decided to return to his hometown and came back to Bengaluru. Two days ago, he boarded a train to Howrah from Yeshwantpur, the officer said.

Meanwhile, the family filed a complaint with JP Nagar police. Investigators reviewed the CCTV footage of various places, including railway stations. As luck would have it, they noticed Das boarding the train at Yeshwantpur. With time running out, police decided to fly to Kolkata in order to apprehend Das before the train reached the Howrah railway station.

Das noticed the police and tried to escape but was chased down. He has been brought down to Bengaluru along with the safe, the officer said.