
BENGALURU: A 37-year-old interstate thief who had gifted a Rs 3 crore, palatial house to his bar dancer girlfriend has been arrested by the city police for committing a theft at a house in Maruthinagar in Madiwala police limits. He had also gifted a Rs 22 lakh aquarium to a well-known Bollywood actress.
A state-level kickboxer and a black belt in karate, Panchakshari Sangayya Swami, who hails from Solapur in Maharashtra, was arrested on January 20 and was taken into police custody to recover the stolen valuables. He had committed the theft on January 9.
During interrogation, the police officers were stunned to know of his glorified criminal past. He has more than 150 cases of robbery and theft across Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka.
In 2012, the Navi Mumbai crime branch sleuths had arrested him. Again in 2016, he was arrested by the Gujarat police in a robbery case and had been sentenced to six years imprisonment and was lodged in Sabarmati Central Prison. Since he was infamous in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana, he had shifted his base to Bengaluru.
Swami’s first crime was stealing a laptop way back in 2003 when he was still 15 years old. By 2009, he had turned professional. When he was 24 years old, he came in contact with the Bollywood actress. He would spend up to Rs 15 lakh per visit on the actress. He had gifted her the expensive aquarium during one of her birthday celebrations.
Thief converted stolen jewellery to gold biscuits
Besides, accused Swami had also constructed a palatial building for his girlfriend, who worked as a bar dancer in Kolkata. “He had met her at the bar and had fallen in love with her. He had constructed the bungalow at a cost of Rs 3 crore for her using his ill-gotten money,” the police said, adding that Swami was married but his wife had deserted him after coming to know of his womanising ways.
His latest arrest came based on CCTV footage and technical evidence. He was picked up near the popular Madiwala market. He had melted all stolen gold ornaments and turned them into gold biscuits. The police recovered a fire gun that he used to melt gold. They also recovered 181 gm of gold biscuits and 333 gm of silver ornaments, all worth around Rs 12.25 lakh.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said the accused was arrested by the Madiwala police. “He had stolen gold and silver ornaments weighing 410 gm from a locked house in Madiwala. He had gained entry by breaking open the door locks. After his release from a jail in Maharashtra in October, last year he committed theft in Madiwala,” the commissioner added.