Kolkata: The detective department of Kolkata Police has arrested a person who was responsible for committing theft at a number of shopping malls in the city over the last few months.
The arrest was made on the basis of a number of complaints that were indexed at two police stations - Karaya and Bhowanipore, in the past three months.
"Acting upon information from reliable sources, we have arrested Bapi Ratan Bhattacharya (48), a resident of Kabardanga, under Haridevpur police station area, from Kabardanga crossing. Several mobile phones and cash have been recovered from his possession," a senior official of the detective department of Kolkata Police said.
The latest case in this regard was recorded at Karaya police station on the basis of a complaint of a resident of Ballygunge Park Road on December 27, 2019.
The complaint was about a theft of a smartphone, cash worth Rs 45,000, two keys and some documents. The complainant was shopping at a shopping mall at Park Circus when the theft occurred.
Three more cases of the same modus operandi were reported from the same shopping mall at Park Circus and another shopping mall specialising in home appliances at Bhowanipore in the last few months.
Investigation has revealed that the offender used to commit theft moving in different shopping malls in Mumbai and had shifted to Kolkata to evade the Mumbai police.
He was earlier arrested in Mumbai also and was out on bail. He started to steal articles from shopping malls in the city for the last few months.
The stolen smartphone and Rs 28,000 cash has been recovered in connection with the complaint lodged by the resident of Ballygunge Park Road.
The sleuths have also recovered fourteen pieces of mobile phones, cash Rs 5,000, one gold neck chain, two gold finger rings and some documents in connection with the earlier thefts.