Special Correspondent
Pune : In a shocking turn of events, a brilliant engineering graduate and class topper turned to crime due to financial distress. Pune Police have arrested the accused, identified as Likit G. (21, resident of Kolar, Karnataka), for stealing gold jewellery from a shop in the Budhwar Peth area of Pune. He was apprehended from Kolar district in Karnataka.
According to police investigations, Likit was not a habitual offender but had topped in engineering. However, mounting financial difficulties allegedly drove him to commit the theft. The incident took place in the early hours of July 6, between 12:45 a.m. and 1:15 a.m., when a man aged between 20 to 25 broke into a jewellery shop through the bathroom window located on the second floor of the building.
The CCTV footage from the night shows the thief wearing a white shirt, jeans, a black mask, and carrying a backpack. He made away with gold ornaments worth ₹4.74 lakh. The shop owner discovered the theft the next day and lodged a complaint at the Vishrambaug Police Station.
Under the guidance of Senior Inspector Santosh Pandhare, Assistant Inspector Rajesh Usgaonkar and his team launched an investigation. The police team scanned around 250 CCTV recordings and used technical surveillance to trace the accused to his native village, Jangamgurajanahalli in Kolar district.
A police team then reached the accused’s residence, where they found key evidence: the sandals and bag used during the theft, his engineering college ID card, and his mobile phone. The mobile phone also contained photographs of the stolen jewellery. Despite these findings, the accused was initially absconding.
After four days of persistent tracking and surveillance with assistance from local police, the accused was finally arrested on Wednesday, July 16, in Gandhinagar, Kolar. During interrogation, Likit confessed to the crime, and the entire stolen jewellery was recovered from him.
