Bengaluru company's IT admin steals 50 laptops after failed tomato farming, caught on CCTV: Report

Murugesh M, 29, was working at a company in Whitefield, Bengaluru since February.

A system administrator at a multimedia firm in Bengaluru, who had suffered financial losses from failed tomato cultivation and a cyber center business, was arrested for stealing 50 company laptops, police said on Tuesday.

The Bengaluru firm employee was caught from neighbouring Hosur. (Representational image)

The accused, a 29-year-old man from neighbouring Hosur, was working at Technicolor India Pvt Ltd in Whitefield since February 2024, Deccan Herald reported.

According to police, as mentioned in the Deccan Herald report, Murugesh M faced losses of around ₹25 lakh during the COVID-19 pandemic due to his unsuccessful ventures. As the system administrator overseeing the company’s laptop inventory, he was able to discreetly steal the devices.

CCTV reveals theft

During the investigation, it was revealed that Murugesh had stolen the laptops over a two-month period.

When the accused stopped showing up for work on August 22, the company launched an inquiry into the missing laptops, which were stored in a room monitored by CCTV.

The CCTV footage captured Murugesh removing laptops from storage, briefly using them, and placing them in his bag before exiting.

The arrest and recovery

On August 30, the police in Whitefield registered a case and began investigating. They traced Murugesh to a local cinema theatre in Hosur, where he was apprehended on September 2, the report added.

According to the police, Murugesh was unware of their presence.

At the time of his arrest, police recovered five laptops from the accused. During interrogation, he confessed to selling 45 laptops to the repair shop in Hosur.

The total value of the stolen laptops was estimated at ₹22 lakh.

Murugesh was sent to jail on September 9 after spending eight days in police custody.