Jewellery, ATM cards, mobile phones, bikes: A thief who stole everything

A man in Greater Noida landed behind bars on Friday, after almost an unabated six-year stealing spree that saw him take anything he could lay his hands on, be it jewellery, car keys, ATM cards or mobile phones, police said.

Ankit, a native of Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh, and his gang have been involved in looting, snatching and robbing incidents in Gautam Buddh Nagar for almost six years, they said.

He was arrested during a routine checking near the Sai Temple in Ecotech 3 area of Greater Noida on Tuesday where he was stopped by police while on a motorcycle, a senior official said.

"During checking, police recovered a countrymade pistol and ammunition from him and found that he was riding a stolen bike and hence, was taken into custody," Superintendent of Police, Greater Noida, Ranvijay Singh said.

"On further checking, he led the police to the recovery of nine stolen mobile phones, nine bunches of keys with scores of keys that would fit into locks of cars, two-wheelers, houses, etc, silver jewellery, half a dozen ATM cards, anklets, etc.," Singh said.

When interrogated, Ankit, who is in his early 30s, said he had been operating in the region with his gang of five since 2013, when he was first caught for theft and jailed, he said.

"Since coming out of prison, he has been involved in a series of thefts and robberies and would steal anything that came his way and sell it off in the grey market," the officer told reporters here.

According to Singh, the accused would use the keys to get into houses for theft and lift vehicles, adding that he was wanted by the district police in at least four cases while other details are being worked out.

"We are also tracing his other gang members and searches are on to nab them soon," he added.

Ankit has been booked under IPC sections 379, 411, 414 and 482 among others, and remanded in judicial custody, he said.