Steal, wipe and sell: How mechanic and ex-Dubai techie teamed up to rob laptops in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: In an unlikely partnership, a mechanic and a former software professional from Dubai joined forces to make quick money: one stole laptops while the other erased their digital traces before selling them in open markets. Their scheme, however, was uncovered when the city police tracked them down and seized 48 stolen laptops.

The accused are M Raja Dorai, 33, a mechanic, and D Gautam, 30, a diploma holder in computer science, both residents of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu.

They are currently in judicial custody at Bengaluru Central Prison. The case came to light last month when an employee of a private firm in Doddatoguru, near Electronics City, reported that his laptop had gone missing in the office. CCTV footage later revealed a man casually walking out through the half-open main door with the device.


Police tracked down the suspect, Raja Dorai, using a series of CCTV recordings. He was seen carrying the laptop to a hotel in Hosur before boarding a bus to Kanchipuram. An investigating officer shared that a police team travelled to Tamil Nadu and detained Dorai, who readily confessed to the crime. According to police, he had been stealing laptops from Bengaluru and passing them on to Gautam, who reformatted the devices and sold them in markets across Chennai and Puducherry.

Arresting Gautam proved to be a challenge. "A close relative of his is a local politician who attempted to obstruct the investigation by pressuring local police," said an officer. Gautam moved from place to place to evade capture. Undeterred, the police team camped in Kanchipuram for nearly three weeks, posing as travellers and discreetly visiting shops before finally locating him.

Police said that Gautam had worked as a data analyst with a private firm in Dubai until 2022. He returned to India when his widowed mother, a govt schoolteacher, fell ill. Unable to return abroad, he opened a laptop servicing shop in Kanchipuram. Dorai, a Class III dropout, developed a friendship with Gautam while getting his two-wheeler repaired, and that friendship soon took a criminal turn, according to police.