Associate of a jewel thief arrested by IGI Airport Police

NEW DELHI: The IGI Airport police team has made further strides in the investigation of the in-flight heist case, leading to the recovery of more stolen jewelry and the arrest of an additional suspect.

The accused was identified as Mohit Maini alias Mannu (44), son of Vijay Maini, a resident of Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana.

According to the Police, the police investigation commenced with a zero FIR from Hyderabad, where Sudharani Pathuri reported the theft of jewelry worth

Rs 7 lakh during her flight to New Delhi.

Another case involved Varinderjeet Singh, who reported the theft of Rs 20 lakh worth of jewelry on a flight from Amritsar to New Delhi.

The investigation, led by Inspector Raj Kumar and supervised by ACP VKPS Yadav, utilised extensive CCTV footage analysis, leading to the arrest of Rajesh Kapoor.

Kapoor admitted to targeting elderly women’s handbags on flights. His confessions unveiled his use of his deceased brother’s identities to evade detection.

During the arrest of Sanjay Jain, a 56-year-old jeweler from Chandni Chowk, who was apprehended for receiving stolen property from the notorious jewel thief, Rajesh Kapoor.

Jain, who operated a jewelry shop, received stolen items through his relative, Sharad Jain, also in custody.

The police recovered valuable gemstones and jewellery that Sanjay Jain had dismantled to obscure their origins.

Further investigation led to the arrest of Mohit Maini, related to Rajesh Kapoor, who was found with a stolen iPhone 15 Pro Max, which he had sold for Rs 90,000. This phone was traced back to a theft committed on a Delhi-Hyderabad flight.

The investigation has resulted in the recovery of 250 grams of pearls, zerkens, gemstones, 36 green emeralds, gold jewelry weighing 30 grams, and the stolen iPhone 15 Pro Max.