Hotel In Nepal, Properties In India: High-Profile Thief Caught In Delhi

A high-profile thief who owns a hotel in Nepal and has several properties in his name in India was arrested by the Delhi Police on Monday.

The case of Manoj Chaubey, who has confessed to more than 200 thefts, reminds of another notorious thief who was involved in around 500 cases of theft across the country and even inspired a hit Bollywood film - 'Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!'

The 48-year-old has two wives - one in Lucknow, the other in Delhi - but neither of them knew he was a thief, police said.

"Chaubey is from Uttar Pradesh's Siddharth Nagar who would come to Delhi to commit theft. He was arrested from Karawal Nagar," said Jitendra Kumar Meena, Deputy Commissioner of Police of northwest Delhi.

He came to Delhi in 1997 and was first caught for theft in a canteen, police said, adding, houses in posh areas were his main targets.

Choubey built a hotel in Nepal with the stolen money and bought a guest house for one of his wives in Uttar Pradesh, police said. He even bought a piece of land in the same area and leased it to a hospital at a monthly rent of Rs 2 lakh, police said. He has a house in Lucknow and his children study in a reputed school in the capital city.

He was caught by the Delhi Police at least nine times but escaped every time. This time around, the police checked CCTV footage and found a suspect who robbed a house in the Model Town area and was seen fleeing on a scooter.

The probe revealed the two-wheeler belonged to one Vinod Thapa - a Nepalese citizen. When Thapa was interrogated, it was found that Manoj Choubey was married to his sister in Nepal.

Choubey, who was later arrested from Karaval Nagar, has 15 cases registered against him.

Last year, the Delhi Police had arrested a man who confessed to nearly 5,000 thefts.