Agencies
NEW DELHI, Mar 5: Delhi Police has arrested a 36-year-old burglary gang kingpin, who used domestic help to gather intelligence before orchestrating high-profile break-ins across Delhi, Gurugram, Chennai, and Hyderabad, officials said on Wednesday.
According to police, the accused, identified as Ram Ashish Mukhiya alias Karan Mukhiya, kingpin of the Mukhiya gang, was arrested from the Mohan Garden area of Dwarka. Karan was declared a proclaimed offender in five cases across Delhi, Gurugram, Chennai, and Hyderabad, police said.
Karan had been absconding since 2017, he added.
"On March 4, police received information regarding his movements and a trap was laid in the Som Bazar Road area of Mohan Garden. When Mukhiya was spotted approaching from the Dwarka side, he attempted to flee. However, he was overpowered and taken in custody," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Satish Kumar said.
Mukhiya, originally from Bihar's Madhubani, has an extensive history of organised house thefts dating back to 2014. He was wanted in multiple cases, including a 2014 robbery at Rohini, where the domestic help drugged the homeowner and stole cash and jewellery, the officer said.
He was also allegedly involved in a case of theft of valuables worth Rs 25 to 30 lakh from a Rajouri Garden residence in 2015, theft of cash and jewellery worth Rs 1 crore from a DLF-II residence in Gurugram, theft of Rs 40 to 50 lakh in cash and valuables in Chennai in 2016 and theft of Rs 1 crore from a house in Banjara Hills in Hyderabad.
During interrogation, it was revealed that Karan allegedly used to deploy domestic help in targeted homes to gather intelligence. His gang members, often posing as maids or servants, identified vulnerable households before executing carefully planned burglaries, the officer added.
He said that after his arrests, Mukhiya was granted bail multiple times but consistently failed to appear for trial, leading to his declaration as a proclaimed offender. |
