New Delhi: Bunty ‘Chor’, popularly referred to as ‘super thief’ in the media because of his past record of evading arrest multiple times, is back in news for two alleged high-profile burglaries “worth over Rs 15 lakh” in the national capital. Bunty, who had just walked out of a 10-year jail term in March, was arrested by a team of Delhi Police near a toll booth in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Friday after a cross-state car chase.
Bunty, on whose life the 2008 Abhay Deol starrer Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! was based, also made it to Season 4 of the reality show Bigg Boss, but was reportedly thrown out of the house by host Salman Khan for alleged misbehaviour.
In 2013 Bunty, whose real name is Devender Singh, was sentenced to a 10-year jail term by a local court in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram in a case of theft of expensive items, including a Mitsubishi Outlander, in a businessman’s house in the state that year.
The 53 year old, who had been accused of more than 250 previous involvements in thefts in the national capital and across India, was said not to have been picky in what he stole. He had been accused of stealing expensive alcohol, watches, phones, gadgets, to even items of home decor like paintings and photo frames.
He had also evaded police and judicial custody multiple times and had even called an emergency helpline number, pretending to be a businessman, and claiming the local police were trying to kidnap him, all to give the authorities a slip.
His modus operandi over the years remained the same, said the police — work alone, with a screwdriver, to break into homes.
A class nine drop-out, Bunty’s police record says that he started committing crimes in 1993, when he was just 14 years old. He had also reportedly tried to die by suicide in the past by trying to swallow a CFL bulb.
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A car chase and a failed escape
According to the police, an FIR was registered at Delhi’s CR Park police station Thursday regarding the theft of three expensive mobile phones, purses, laptops, branded shoes, wrist watches and a Baleno car the intervening night.
On the same day, another FIR was registered at the same police station by another complainant about the theft of a steam press, five Sony TVs with set top boxes, LG printer etc.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), South, Delhi Police, Chandan Choudhary said that analysis of the CCTV footage revealed that the suspect, later identified as Bunty, was a middle aged man wearing a cap.
“During the course of investigation, the police team reached Kalindi Kunj, chasing the suspect through CCTV Cameras. Meanwhile, locations of stolen mobile phones were checked and one of the mobile phones (was) switched on and the location was near Agra on the highway, about 150 kms away,” DCP Choudhary added.
The police teams kept surveillance on the Fastags of vehicles on the phones and followed updates of the deductions made at toll booths in UP, towards the Nepal border.
The stolen Baleno car was spotted on the highway near Etawah and the car chase lasted for about 100 kms, with Bunty driving at a speed of 120 kms per hour.
According to DCP Choudhary, the car was finally intercepted at a toll booth in Kanpur Dehat area, but Bunty still tried to escape. The car windows were broken by the police to open the car and he was finally nabbed.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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