PANAJI
In one of the rare instances, the police resorted to the honey trap method to nab a thief suspected of stealing valuables and cash worth Rs 50 lakh approx from a bungalow in Dona Paula.
The accused, hailing from Nepal had travelled to Goa to target affluent neighbourhoods. He was arrested from his hide-out in West Bengal while part of the stolen items was recovered by the police from Mumbai.
Dr Sanjay Khope, the complainant had alleged that unidentified person/s forcibly entered his bungalow on July 29 and made off with gold and diamond jewellery, along with Rs 5 lakh in cash. The total value of the stolen property was estimated at around Rs 50 lakh.
Addressing a press conference at the Panaji Police Station on Friday, Superintendent of Police (North Goa), Nidhin Valsan claimed that their meticulous strategizing and intelligence gathering, accompanied by CCTV footage analysis and mobile surveillance, led to the identification and eventual tracing of the suspect.
“A team led by PSI Sanket Pokhare, was sent to West Bengal where in collaboration with our counterparts, the police apprehended Suredar Chhetri at the Siliguri Railway Station junction,” he said.
As per the investigation so far, the accused’s modus operandi was to scout upscale localities and target the unlocked premises. Valsan said that the accused had sold the stolen items to two buyers, including a jewellery store in Mumbai. CCTV surveillance also showed that he had visited a casino for gambling after the crime.
Despite his fake credentials, the police laid their hands on his active Instagram and Facebook accounts and planned to honey-trap him through a decoy woman.
“She befriended him and gained his trust through constant touch for several days. With this, the decoy managed to get his exact address after which the police team was dispatched to West Bengal and he was arrested in a joint operation by the Panaji and West Bengal police,” the police said.
The accused was brought to Goa through a transit warrant and is presently remanded to eight days of police custody. Another team to Goregaon in Malad succeeded in recovering part of the stolen property.
