Pune, Aug 1: Akshay Gupta, a 37-year old software professional, holding a BE degree in Instrumentation, and working with a top multinational software firm, was arrested on sunday with his wife on charge of stealing jewellery.
His wife Geetika holds an MBA degree in finance.On Sunday, a team headed by Assistant Police Commissioner (Crime) Prabhakar Patil and PI Suresh Kekane made the arrest.The couple was identified as Akshay Ramkumar Gupta (37) and his wife Gitika (32),both residents of Baner-Pashan Link Road.
The two accused,along with their sons,shifted to Pune about a month ago after Akshay got a job with a software company.Patil said that the two were arrested from a spot near their house and that all the stolen jewellery had been recovered from their house.The thefts were committed for easy money which Akshay wanted for personal reasons, Patil added, reports Pune Mirror.
Kekane said it is not known whether the two accused have a past criminal record as they shifted to Pune only recently.The city police will enquire about their past with the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Police units.The two hail from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, he added.
Kekane added that Akshay works as a project manager,earning a monthly salary of Rs 1.50 lakh.The couple had allegedly stolen a gold bracelet (kada) worth Rs 1.24 lakh from P N Gadgil on M G Road between 6.30 pm and 7 pm on July 23.
They then went to the Tanishq showroom on Bund Garden Road at 7.39 pm and were in the shop till 7.53 pm.Here,they stole two necklaces and earrings collectively worth Rs 2.10 lakh.
However,in both the shops,the CCTV sets captured their images while they were stealing the ornaments.The police had launched a manhunt for the two after obtaining their images from the CCTVs.Police received a tip off saying that the couple had been sighted in the Hinjewadi and Baner areas and the two were finally found in Baner.
Police have also seized a luxury car which the couple used to commute between the two shops.Stealing "just for fun" has thus landed the engineer working in a reputed Hinjewadi-based info-tech company and his wife in police custody. Video footage from closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras did them in. The police closed in on Akshay Gupta and his wife Geetika at their residence in Pashan on Sunday.
Akshay draws an annual salary of Rs18 lakh per annum, while Geetika is a post-graduate in business administration. The couple, which hails from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, has an 8-year-old son.The police recovered gold ornaments valued at Rs3.2 lakh, which the couple had stolen from the MG Road (Camp) showrooms of PN Gadgil and Tanishq on July 23.
Among the ornaments recovered were necklaces, ear rings and bracelets. However, their luck ran out when staff at both the showrooms detected the crime with the help of CCTV footage and reported the matter to the police.On interrogation, Akshay told the police they committed the rime "just for fun".
The assistant commissioner of police (crime), Prabhakar Patil, said the task of locating the the couple was not an easy one. "We had a hunch that Akshay could be from an IT background. We activated our informers in Vimannagar, Pashan and Baner areas and showed them the snaps of the couple captured on CCTV."
Informers in Pashan reverted back to the police, confirming that the couple had an apartment in Pashan. A police team, led by police inspector Suresh Kekane, laid a trap in Pashan, arrested the duo and recovered the stolen booty.
On interrogation, Akshay told the police they committed the crime "just for fun".The assistant commissioner of police (crime), Prabhakar Patil, said the task of locating the the couple was not an easy one.
"We had a hunch that Akshay could be from an IT background. We activated our informers in Vimannagar, Pashan and Baner areas and showed them the snaps of the couple captured on CCTV." Informers in Pashan reverted back to the police, confirming that the couple had an apartment in Pashan. A police team, led by police inspector Suresh Kekane, laid a trap in Pashan, arrested the duo and recovered the stolen booty.
