A 40-year-old man was arrested Monday at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi for allegedly stealing jewellery and other valuables from passengers’ handbags on several occasions on flights.
The accused, identified as Rajesh Kapoor, reportedly boarded over 200 flights and travelled for more than 110 days in the past year to commit thefts, according to police, PTI reported.
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Addressing a press conference at the IGI airport, Deputy Commissioner of Police Usha Rangnani said Kapoor got arrested in Paharganj, where he kept the stolen jewellery. He planned to sell them to Sharad Jain, 46, who was also apprehended in Karol Bagh.
Rangnani explained that two theft cases were reported on different flights in the past three months. This led to a special team being formed at IGI Airport to catch the culprits. On April 11, one passenger lost jewellery worth Rs 7 lakh while flying from Hyderabad to Delhi. Another theft happened on February 2, where a passenger lost jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh while travelling from Amritsar to Delhi.
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During investigations, CCTV footage from Delhi and Amritsar airports and the flight lists were checked. A suspect was identified as he appeared on both flights where thefts happened, Rangnani added. Additionally, the suspected passenger’s phone number procured from the airlines turned out to be fake. Through technical tracking, they found Kapoor’s real phone number and arrested him.
Inside Kapoor’s tactics and how he managed to escape
Upon questioning, Kapoor confessed to being part of five cases, including one in Hyderabad, the police revealed. He admitted to spending most of the stolen money on both online and offline gambling. It was also discovered that he was linked to 11 cases involving theft, gambling, and breach of trust, with five of them occurring at airports. His strategy was to focus on vulnerable passengers, especially elderly women traveling internationally.
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“Recognizing the tendency of such passengers to carry valuables in their handbags, he strategically travelled on premium domestic flights, notably Air India and Vistara, bound for destinations like Delhi, Chandigarh, and Hyderabad,” the officer said, as per news agency PTI.
During the chaos of boarding, Kapoor would discreetly search through overhead cabins, assessing and stealing valuables from unsuspecting victims’ handbags while passengers settled into their seats.
The officer added that Kapoor sometimes even changed his seat to be near his target after identifying them. His method, timed to coincide with the distractions of boarding, allowed him to operate without being noticed.
To avoid detection, Kapoor used a deceptive tactic – booking tickets under his deceased brother’s name – to conceal his identity from both airlines and law enforcement agencies.