'Expert in making duplicate keys': Dressed as delivery boy, Bengaluru man burgled 100+ houses; used stolen booty for online gambling, cricket betting

BENGALURU: A man involved in more than 100 burglary cases was arrested along with his associate, who would dispose of the booty. The burglar, Prakash alias Balaji, 43, is an expert in making duplicate keys, police said. He would target locked houses and carry a bunch of duplicate keys with him while committing burglaries. He dressed as a food-delivery boy by wearing T-shirts provided by online firms to evade arrest. Police said Balaji would invest the stolen money in online gambling and cricket betting.He was caught while police were investigating a case of theft registered on May 25. He struck the house of Pappuram in Venkatapura, Koramangala, and made away with gold ornaments worth over Rs 1.2 lakh. Pappuram left the key in the main door and went to sleep around 3am. He woke up three hours later to find the ornaments stolen.Police commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said Balaji has been involved in 116 cases since 2001. With the latest arrest, police detected 13 cases registered in different police stations and recovered 779 grams of gold ornaments, 100 grams of silver articles, and a two-wheeler used to commit crimes. The recovered valuables are worth Rs 75 lakh.Balaji's aide, a tailor named Rajiv Gandhi, stitched clothes for the burglar and was paid a commission to dispose of the stolen ornaments.