Delhi man takes 200 flights in a year, steals people’ stuff, and gets arrested.

A man was arrested after taking goods from co-passengers on over 200 flights in a year. He used his deceased brother’s identity to avoid detection and stole largely from premium domestic flights.

In Brief

• Man steals jewellery and valuables from co-passengers’ bags during flights.
• Travels on 200 flights per year.
• Arrested after police analyzed CCTV footage and flight manifests

On Monday, Delhi Police apprehended a 40-year-old man for allegedly stealing jewellery and other valuables from co-passengers’ handbags on numerous flights.

The accused, Rajesh Kapoor, took at least 200 flights and travelled for more than 110 days last year to commit thefts, according to investigators.

At a press conference at the IGI airport, Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI) Usha Rangnani said Kapoor had been apprehended in Paharganj, where he allegedly kept the stolen valuables.

He intended to sell them to Sharad Jain, 46, who has also been arrested in Karol Bagh, she claimed.

Rangnani stated that two different incidences of theft were recorded on separate flights during the last three months, prompting the formation of a dedicated squad from IGI Airport to apprehend the perpetrators.

On April 11, a passenger lost Rs 7 lakh in jewellery while travelling from Hyderabad to Delhi. Another crime was recorded on February 2, when a passenger lost jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh while flying from Amritsar to Delhi.

Rangnani stated that CCTV video from the Delhi and Amritsar airports, as well as airline manifests, were analysed during the investigation.

A suspect was identified since he was spotted on both planes where theft occurrences were recorded, she added.

The officer stated that the suspected passenger’s phone number was retrieved from the airlines involved, although he had provided a false number at the time of booking.

After technical monitoring, Kapoor’s original phone number was traced and he was captured.

He confessed to being engaged in five such crimes, including one in Hyderabad, after being interrogated for many hours, according to police.

He revealed that he spent the majority of the money on online and offline gaming.

Kapoor was found to be engaged in 11 incidents of theft, gambling, and criminal breach of trust, five of which were at airports.

Another police officer claimed Kapoor would target weak travelers.

“Recognising the habit of such passengers to carry valuables in their handbags, he purposefully went on premium domestic flights, particularly Air India and Vistara, heading for destinations like Delhi, Chandigarh, and Hyderabad,” according to the officer.

The officer claimed that he would use the confusion of boarding by discreetly rifling through overhead cabins, carefully appraising and snatching items from surprised victims’ handbags as passengers settled into their seats.

On many times, after zeroing in on its goal, he even had his seat relocated by the airline to be closer to it, he added.

His strategy, precisely timed to coincide with the diversions inherent in the boarding process, enabled him to go undetected.

To further elude detection, Kapoor used a misleading method, purchasing tickets using his deceased brother’s name.