Guest was a thief too

Shaikh Chotu would often come to Nagpur from Beed to meet his relative. But his intentions were far from benign. During his visits, Chotu, alias Illi, would double up as a thief, breaking into the houses in the neighbourhood. He was nabbed recently.

Chhotu was described by cops as an 'eveninger,' who would target locked houses only after sunset but before midnight hours. A hardcore drug addict, Chhotu would spend most of his money on contraband substances. He used a simple screw driver to break locks, said cops.

Police said Chhotu would spend couple of months at his relative's place in Sakkardara. He would do recces in different localities during afternoons, trying to spot a locked residence. He would return shortly with his equipment to break locks. Chhotu has been known to be active in Pachpaoli, Sakkardara and Nandanvan localities.

During questioning, Chhotu admitted to have burgled the residence of a timber merchant from Mahesh Nagar last week. Chhotu had decamped with valuables worth Rs 2.50 lakh from the residence of the Akbanis when the family had gone out for dinner.

Crime branch has already recovered gold worth Rs 1.20 lakh and Rs 17,000 cash from Chhotu. Police have also made a recovery from him from a theft at Sai Nagar in Pachpaoli.