CHENNAI: A small time actor and junior artiste working in Kollywood and TV soaps was apprehended by the police on Tuesday for allegedly duping camera rental companies and disappearing with their high-end cameras. Three Canon 5 D - Mark III cameras with full kits worth `15 lakh, apart from two gold jewels, were recovered from him.
Police said that Krishnamurthy (29), a resident of West Mambalam, learnt about professional camera rental services being used in a couple of films and TV soaps, he acted. He reportedly would note down the numbers of the service providers, telephone them and drop names of Kollywood personalities before placing orders for cameras. The company representatives too would reach the location and hand over the camera. He would normally prefer the lobby of star hotels to meet camera firm representatives. After a few minutes of conversation, he would excuse himself under the pretext of showing the camera to the producer and director to showcase its quality. The unsuspecting representative too would let him go with the camera. Then, he would disappear from the hotel and destroy phone SIM card.
Vadapalani Police, who had registered a case were on the trail of Krishnamurthy who kept changing numbers. At last, they tracked one of his friends down and made him convince Krishnamurthy to come to a location on the pretext of extending financial aid. Krishnamurthy who took the bait and arrived at the rendezvous was surrounded by Cops and taken into custody. He was remanded to judicial custody by a city court.