CHENNAI: A burglar, who took several precautions to conceal his identity, including covering his face and damaging the lights, was nabbed after police recovered his fingerprint from children’s clothes at the crime scene.
Ashok Nagar police arrested ‘Market’ Suresh (49) at Sholinghur in Ranipet district on Monday night and recovered 30 sovereigns of gold jewellery and Rs 1 lakh in cash allegedly stolen from the house in Kodambakkam.
The burglary took place on Saturday at the residence of Baskar, a private firm manager, on Subramania Puram Second Street. Baskar and his family were away at the time of the incident.
Police said Suresh damaged the exterior lights before entering the house, covered his face and searched the rooms for valuables. While rummaging through a bureau, he allegedly handled some children’s clothes with his bare hands. He is said to have left Rs 20,000 beside the clothes before fleeing with the remaining cash and jewellery. A neighbour noticed that the lights were on inside and alerted Baskar, who informed the police.
Fingerprint experts recovered a print that matched Suresh’s records. Police said Suresh usually wore gloves during burglaries but had handled the clothes with his bare hands, leaving behind the clue that led to his arrest. Suresh faces more than 30 theft cases, including cases relating to a jewellery shop burglary in T Nagar and the theft of valuables worth Rs 2 crore in Tiruvallur, police stated.