BHUBANESWAR: Quietly trailing a 20-year-old youth who crashed weddings to steal valuables, Bhubaneswar police nabbed him from his hometown in Madhya Pradesh with burgled gold and diamond ornaments worth about Rs 10 lakh.
Two days after the accused Rajesh Sisodia walked out of jail on bail, police followed him to Rajgarh district in MP and recovered all the stolen ornaments from his possession. He was brought to Bhubaneswar and remanded in judicial custody on the day.
Investigation revealed Sisodia and his two associates had arrived here earlier in February. They visited a hotel located within Maitri Vihar police limits on February 2 when a wedding was underway. Posing as guests, they went in and stole a bag consisting of ornaments and Rs 1.20 lakh cash from the venue.
A complaint in this regard was lodged by the bride’s father Saroj Mishra and police registered a case. However, not satisfied with the spoils, the wedding crashers went to another wedding venue at a hotel in Puri the same evening. However, their luck ran out as locals caught hold of Sisodia though his associates managed to escape. Baliapanda police arrested the accused and he was sent to jail.
On receiving information about Sisodia’s possible involvement in theft in Bhubaneswar, the city police questioned him when he was lodged in Puri jail. However, the thief managed to secure bail after two days and left for his hometown in Madhya Pradesh. The city police wasted no time and followed him to Rajgarh district where they carried out raids at his house.
“All the stolen ornaments were seized from Sisodia’s house and he was arrested. Efforts are on to nab the other culprits involved in the thefts,” said a police officer.
Police said the gang members used to travel to different parts of the country during wedding seasons. The accused collected information about prominent hotels from the internet and trespassed if they noticed any wedding was underway. They would dress elegantly and target mostly the bride’s family before escaping in their car after committing the theft, said the police.