Burglar who faked speech, hearing disabilities held in Delhi

Jaya Kumar, a 43-year-old man, allegedly pretended to have a hearing and speech impairment in Delhi to steal laptops and mobile phones, which he would sell in Chennai. He was arrested after committing a series of thefts over two years. Kumar visited crowded public places pretending to be deaf and mute and carried a register to gain access to various premises. He confessed to stealing over 100 cellphones and 15 laptops since 2021. Kumar chose crowded areas in Delhi for his thefts due to the availability of rich targets.

For three weeks each month, 43-year-old Jaya Kumar would drive an auto-rickshaw in Chennai, ostensibly earning a livelihood. In the fourth week, however, he would make his way to Delhi, where he lived in budget hotels in Paharganj, took buses and Metros, visited malls, banks, gyms — and pretended to have a hearing and speech impairment. 

On Thursday, he was arrested in relation to a series of thefts he committed over two years in Delhi-NCR. (Represenational image)

According to the Delhi police, Kumar allegedly did all this to steal laptops and mobile phones, which he would then sell in Chennai after each visit for ₹50,000- ₹70,000. On Thursday, he was arrested in relation to a series of thefts he committed over two years in Delhi-NCR.

In his last and latest visit, Kumar allegedly committed three thefts, including that of a mobile phone of a doctor of a premier private hospital in south-east Delhi’s Sarita Vihar. The Delhi Police said a stolen laptop and two cellphones have been recovered from him.

Kumar visited crowded public places pretending to be a deaf and mute person looking for donations for medical treatment. He carried a register in which, he claimed, he would write the names of donors and the amount they gave, said investigators. The act allowed the suspect to enter various premises.

“Kumar has confessed to stealing more than 100 cellphones and over 15 laptops from Delhi, almost every month since 2021. He was never arrested before,” said deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) Rohit Meena.

DCP Meena said that the matter came to the fore following an investigation into a theft case in which an iPhone was stolen from a fitness centre in Anand Vihar on Wednesday.

The complainant told police that he was exercising at the gym when his iPhone 12 Pro Max was swiped. A case of theft was registered at the Anand Vihar police station and investigation taken up, said Meena.

“The probe team scanned CCTV cameras installed inside and outside the gym. They found that the phone was stolen by an unidentified man, who randomly walked into the gym, carrying a register in his hand...He hid it between the pages of a register he had and fled,” said DCP Meena.

It was while investigating the movement of the accused with the help of over 200 CCTV cameras installed on the routes he took that day that the police reached him. Investigators found that his last location was traced to a hotel in central Delhi’s Paharganj.

The hotel staff confirmed that he was stayingat their hotel since October 2.

“Our team laid a trap and arrested the suspect, Jaya Kumar, from outside the hotel,” the investigator claimed. DCP Meena said Kumar visited Delhi for a week every month since 2021 in a bid to commit the thefts. He chose crowded public places for stealing cellphones and laptops,said the DCP.

For three weeks each month, 43-year-old Jaya Kumar would drive an auto-rickshaw in Tamil Nadu’s Chennai, in a bid to earn his livelihood. For the remaining week, however, he would make his way to Delhi, where he lived in budget hotels in Paharganj, took buses and metros, visited malls, banks, gyms — and pretended to have a “hearing and speech impairment”. 

According to the Delhi police, Kumar allegedly did all this in a bid to “steal laptops and mobile phones,” which he would then sell in Chennai after each visit for ₹50,000- ₹70,000. On Thursday, he was arrested by the special staff of Shahdara police district in relation to a series of thefts he allegedly committed over two years in Delhi-NCR.

In his last and latest visit,Kumar allegedly committed three thefts, including that of a mobile phone of a doctor of a premier private hospital in southeast Delhi’s Sarita Vihar. The Delhi police said that a stolen laptop and two cellphones have been recovered from him.

Kumar visited crowded public places pretending to be a deaf and mute person looking for donations for medical treatment. He carried a register in which, he claimed, he would write the names of the donors and the amount they gave, said investigators. The act allowed the suspect to enter various premises, and when someone asked him why he was there, he would act pretend to be a disabled person to escape.

“Kumar has confessed to stealing more than 100 cellphones and over 15 laptops from Delhi during his visit to Delhi, almost every month since 2021. He was never arrested before,” said deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) Rohit Meena.

DCP Meena said that the matter came to the fore following an investigation into a theft case wherein an iPhone of a man was stolen from a premium fitness centre in east Delhi’s Anand Vihar on Wednesday. According to investigators, thecomplainant told the police that he was busy exercising at the gym when his iPhone 12 Pro Max was stolen. A case of theft was registered at the Anand Vihar police station and the special staff team was roped in to identify and nab the thief, said Meena.

“The team led by Inspector Vikas Chaudhary scanned CCTV cameras installed inside and outside the gym. The team members found that the phone was stolen by an unidentified man, who randomly walked into the gym, carrying a register in his hand...He hid it between the pages of a register he had and fled,” said DCP Meena.

It was while investigating the movement of the accused with the help of over 200 CCTV cameras installed on the routes he took that day that the police reached him. Investigators found that he travelled by the Delhi metro and his last location was traced to a hotel in central Delhi’s Paharganj. The hotel staff confirmed that he was stayingat their hotel since October 2, said a senior investigator.

“Our team laid a trap and arrested the suspect, Jaya Kumar, from outside the hotel. The hotel room he was staying in was searched. Apart from the stolen iPhone, another phone and a laptop were recovered. Kumar disclosed that both the items were stolen. The other phone belonged to the doctor of the Sarita Vihar hospital, while the laptop was stolen from Noida. We have verified it from the concerned police stations in Sarita Vihar and Noida,” the investigator claimed.

DCP Meena said that Kumar visited Delhi for a week every month since 2021 in a bid to commit the thefts. He chose crowded public places for stealing cellphones and laptops,said the DCP.

“Kumar revealed that Delhi was his favorite destination to commit thefts as there are a lot of rich targets for him and the crowded areas facilitated him in his act. He used a register to cover the stolen items during the crimes,” added Meena.