The accused stole gold ornaments from his victims after following them home (representational)
41-year-old man was arrested today from Ghansoli in Navi Mumbai for his alleged involvement in a string of theft cases, police said. 3 jewelers have also been arrested for buying stolen jewellery from the accused, they said.
Gold ornaments worth over Rs 47 lakh have been recovered from the possession of the accused, identified as Tukaram Adsul, said Thane Joint Commissioner of Police Madhukar Pandey.
The accused has 37 theft cases pending against him in 19 police stations.
Explaining how Tukaram Adsul worked, the police said he promised his targets tenements under the Prime Minister/Chief Minister
Awas Yojana. He would then ask the potential targets to meet him at a particular spot with various documents.
"During the conversation, he would seek more documents and accompany the victims to their houses. He would then send his targets away by asking them to bring photocopies of certain documents. Once they left, Tukaram Adsul would steal gold ornaments and flee," the officer said.
He has allegedly committed theft in various areas spread across Thane and neighbouring Navi Mumbai.