A 29-year-old notorious burglar, who identified locked houses during the day and raided them past midnight, was caught in Chitlapakkam on Monday. Police said the man, who seemed to accurately plan his burglaries, would leave his two-wheeler at the parking lot of the Tambaram railway station and travel to the crime location in a share auto. Police recovered 180 sovereigns of gold stolen from 11 houses, silver items, three cars, three motorbikes and `22,000 cash from him. The seizure is totally worth `60 lakh, they said.
Police said Punniyamurthy alias Mohan (29), of Jaya Nagar, Chitlapakkam, was caught on suspicion during a vehicle inspection at Gomathi Nagar on Monday night. Upon questioning, police found that he was the notorious burglar who was involved in 11 house break-ins reported in and around Chitlapakkam.
Further investigations revealed his accuracy at planning and executing the burglaries. Police said he would go around the area and identify locked houses and keep a watch on them for sometime. Later in the night, he would park his two-wheeler either at the Tambaram railway station or the Vandalur station and take a share auto to reach a spot closest to the house he targeted.
Police said he would then scale the compound wall of the house before 10 pm and wait till midnight before breaking in. He would break the lock of the house to gain access and switch on the lights. To avoid being noticed by the neighbours, he would cover the windows with bed sheets. He would then search for the keys of the bureau to pack off all the valuables.
Once set to leave, he would use the two-wheeler or car parked in the house to reach the railway station. From the railway station, he would leave for home on his motorbike before 5.30 am.