Kittur police nab thief, recover Rs 1 lakh cash

Belagavi: Kittur police arrested a man involved in thefts at crowded places and recovered Rs 1 lakh in cash from his possession on Saturday.The arrest was made based on a complaint filed by Vidyashree Shivanand Sangolli, who had lost money while travelling in a Kittur–Alnavar government bus. Acting on the complaint, Kittur PSI G G Hampannavar and his team launched an investigation and tracked down the accused at Nekar Nagar in Hubballi.The accused has been identified as Avinash Nagesh Bestar, 31. Police said he worked as an auto-rickshaw driver in Hubballi and targeted unsuspecting passengers in crowded locations.During interrogation, Bestar confessed that he used to wait at busy bus stands, including the Kittur bus stand, and steal money by cutting the bags of women passengers, police said.With his arrest, police have detected two theft cases. Officials said the accused had stolen Rs 1.6 lakh in the two cases, of which Rs 1 lakh in cash has been recovered. The accused was produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody.