DELHI- A 40-year-old man allegedly booked over 200 flights under his deceased brother’s name and stole jewelry and cash worth crores from fellow passengers’ cabin baggage, passing them on to a jeweler in west Delhi, police said on Monday (May 13, 2024).
The prime suspect, Rajesh Kapoor, and his accomplice have been arrested, unravelling the elaborate operation.
Jewel Thief 200 Flights and Steals Bags
Kapoor, using the name of his late brother Rishi Kapoor to evade detection, traveled for more than 110 days, with over 200 flights in that period. His primary destinations included Chandigarh and Hyderabad. He frequently booked round trips from Delhi, targeting senior citizens on premium domestic airlines.
“He exploited the chaotic boarding process, rifling through overhead bins and stealing valuables from unlocked bags as passengers settled into their seats,” said Usha Rangnani, Delhi’s deputy commissioner of police (Indira Gandhi International Airport).
Rishi Kapoor, Rajesh’s brother, passed away a year and a half ago, allowing Rajesh to use his identity to avoid detection by airlines and law enforcement.
Rajesh Kapoor has allegedly been a serial offender for nearly 20 years, previously involved in 11 theft cases. He transitioned from burglarizing passengers on trains to planes in 2022.
Complaint from Passengers
Police began tracking Kapoor after receiving reports from two passengers about missing jewelry worth lakhs from their cabin baggage.
The first complaint was filed on February 2 by Varinderjeet Singh, a US resident. Singh was traveling from Amritsar to Delhi on an Air India flight, with a connecting flight to Frankfurt, Germany. During his journey to the capital, his bag was burgled of jewelry worth ₹20 lakhs, he informed the police.
The second complaint was registered on April 11 by Sudharani Pathuri, who was traveling from Hyderabad to Delhi on an Air India flight, with a connecting flight to the United States. She reported that her bag was missing jewelry worth ₹7 lakh.
As police reviewed CCTV footage from airports in Delhi, Amritsar, and Hyderabad and collaborated with Air India officials, they identified a man who had traveled on both of the reported flights. Investigators discovered that he had booked the tickets using a phone number that did not belong to him.
Police traced Kapoor to Paharganj, a well-known backpackers’ area in central Delhi, where he operated a guest house called “Ricky Delux.” He lived with his family on the top floor of the four-story building.
“We raided the building and arrested him on Friday morning,” said Deputy Commissioner Usha Rangnani, noting that the property is registered in his mother’s name.
During interrogation, Kapoor admitted to being involved in three additional thefts over the past four months, besides the two reported cases. Two of these incidents, involving stolen jewelry worth a combined ₹62.5 lakh, were reported at the IGI Airport police station, and the fifth case was registered in Hyderabad.
“After examining his travel logs collected from airlines over the past year, we found that Kapoor traveled for more than 110 days and took around 200 flights solely for theft purposes. We are now gathering his travel data for the past two years.”
Not the First Time
He also led the police to Sharad Jain, a 46-year-old jeweler who runs a shop in Regharpura, West Delhi. Jain allegedly received stolen valuables from Kapoor for over a year, melted the ornaments, and used them to make new jewelry.
“Before melting the ornaments, Jain removed their diamonds and returned them to Kapoor — they were of no good use to him,” added Rangnani.
Police stated that Kapoor mostly traveled between Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Amritsar and had been arrested in 11 previous cases.
He had stopped stealing around 2018 but resumed committing thefts about two years ago, according to police.
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