Mumbai: Thief behind burglaries from December 2021 caught

Ajit Pillai would cover himself fully to avoid being identified in CCTV footage

A 30-year-old burglar, who had managed to evade the cops for nine months, was caught red-handed recently by a patrolling team. What had made it tough for the Mumbai Police was that he would cover his entire body except his eyes to avoid getting identified through CCTV cameras, and take autos after the crime, changing them often.

Interestingly, the police said Ajit Arjun Pillai, who hails from Ahmedabad, has an MSc in Statistics. However, they are still trying to find if he had a job and why he took to crime. They said he has claimed he took to crime due to his family issues. He was arrested by a police patrolling team on August 19, while he was trying to break into a shop in Borivli.

No clues for cops

"There has been a spate of burglaries from Goregaon to Dahisar since December 2021. While examining the CCTV footages we found a man who had covered himself completely, breaking into shops and residences. Only his eyes can be seen. The police officials from Goregaon, Kandivli, Borivli and Dahisar tried to trail him through CCTV footage, but for some reason they would lose him beyond a point as he would take an auto and kept changing autos," an officer from Borivli police station said.

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The officer added, "He was not on the record of Mumbai police. With his fully covered image captured in CCTV cameras, it was getting next to impossible for us to get any leads."

On being questioned after being caught, Pillai could not give proper replies about his presence at the spot that late. The police team searched him and found some tools used for break-ins in his possession. He was arrested on charge of burglaries and remanded in police custody.

Arrested before

During investigation, cops learnt that Pillai is a habitual offender. He has 35 cases to his name registered with Ahmedabad police and was arrested for a burglary. Since he was on the radar of Ahmedabad cops, he decided to shift activities to Mumbai. After release from jail, he arrived in Mumbai.

"After committing the burglaries, the accused used to abandon his bike in the city, and board a bus for Ahmedabad. He would then get back in the city after a gap of a week or two," said Sub-Inspector Indrajeet Patil who is investigating the case under the supervision of Senior Inspector Ninad Sawant of Borivli police station.