Man held for theft from cars parked at Tihar jail

A 35-year-old man was arrested for stealing electronics, wallets and other valuable items left behind in cars parked by visitors to the Tihar jail, given the items are not allowed while visiting inmates, in around 40 instances over the past two to three months

A 35-year-old man was arrested for stealing electronics, wallets and other valuable items left behind in cars parked by visitors to the Tihar jail, given the items are not allowed while visiting inmates, in around 40 instances over the past two to three months, police said.

Following multiple complaints to the Hari Nagar police over the incident, a plainclothes team was deployed and the man was caught red-handed. (Representative photo)

A senior police officer, not wishing to be named, said: “He picked days like Monday and Tuesday, when there would be a lot of visitors to Tihar jail. Since all the cars are parked outside the jail complex, where no guards are present, he would secretly target multiple cars using old keys and break-in tools.”

Following multiple complaints to the Hari Nagar police over the incident, a plainclothes team was deployed and the man was caught red-handed.

Vichitra Veer, DCP (West) said, “The victims alleged that their phones/wallets were stolen when they were meeting their family members at Tihar jail. We deployed a plainclothes team to start looking for the thief. After days of regular checking, the team on Tuesday found the accused. He was caught red-handed while trying to break into a car.”

The accused was identified as Prakash Dass and two stolen mobile phones, a purse, a wristwatch and airpods were recovered from him. Following questioning, police recovered 11 more mobile phones and other items, including bags and wallets.

Veer said that Dass sold the stolen goods to a trader, Md Sohail, who was arrested from his house in Jahangirpuri. The duo was booked for theft.

“He was caught with seven more stolen phones. Sohail and Dass have been involved in multiple thefts and robberies,” said Veer.

Sohail works at a mobile phone repair shop and has access to selling phones to others, police said.

The duo started targeting cars at Tihar jail upon noticing high-end vehicles parked there, police said. “He noticed families leaving items and decided to commit thefts. He got lucky since it’s an open area with no security cover…” a senior officer said.