Bengaluru police on Tuesday arrested two men from Tamil Nadu for allegedly stealing laptops from paying guest (PG) facilities across the city and recovered 48 laptops worth around Rs 40 lakh.
The accused have been identified as Gautam (30), a laptop service technician, and Rajadorai (33), an autorickshaw driver. Police said Rajadorai has two previous criminal cases registered against him in Tamil Nadu.
The case came to light after a complaint was filed on December last month, by a resident of a PG facility under the limits of the Electronic City police station, Indian Express reported.
The complainant stated that unknown persons entered his room through an unlocked door and stole three laptops belonging to him and his friends between the night
of November 28 and the morning of November 29.
Following the complaint, police registered a case and launched an investigation. Officers examined the crime scene, checked CCTV footage from nearby areas and gathered information from local sources to identify the suspects.
On December 11, police detained Rajadorai from Tamil Nadu. During questioning, he reportedly confessed to the theft in Electronic City and revealed his involvement in several similar laptop thefts from PG accommodations across Bengaluru.
Further investigation led police to Gautam, who was allegedly involved in disposing of the stolen laptops.
Police said Rajadorai would hand over the stolen laptops to Gautam, who would reformat and refurbish them before selling them. Several laptops had already been sold, and efforts are under way to trace and recover the remaining devices.
Police said the duo mainly targeted PG facilities, taking advantage of unlocked rooms and poor security. They are also checking whether other laptop theft cases in the city are linked to the accused.
Both accused were produced before a court and remanded in police custody.
