Frequent flyer held for stealing from aircraft, Delhi airport

A resident of south east Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar, Kapoor was earlier arrested in 2007. On Thursday, he again landed in the Delhi Police’s net when he allegedly travelled from Delhi to Srinagar and back, going by the name of Sachin Gupta, the police said.

Failing to expand his father’s garment export business from South Korea to Malaysia about 10 years ago, 37-year-old Rajesh Kapoor allegedly started stealing from air planes and airports during his frequent air travels to make a quick buck and maintain his lavish lifestyle. Kapoor was even blacklisted by some airlines from flying but allegedly used fake names and travel documents to take flights and steal for a living.

37-year-old Rajesh Kapoor allegedly started stealing from air planes and airports during his frequent air travels to make a quick buck and maintain his lavish lifestyle. (Sourced)

A resident of south east Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar, Kapoor was earlier arrested in 2007. On Thursday, he again landed in the Delhi Police’s net when he allegedly travelled from Delhi to Srinagar and back, going by the name of Sachin Gupta, the police said.

Deputy commissioner of police (Delhi airport) Sanjay Bhatia said so far, two airlines – IndiGo and Vistara – have blacklisted Kapoor for his alleged involvement in thefts.

He has eleven cases of thefts against him, some also registered at Nizamuddin and New Delhi railway stations.

Bhatia said on Thursday, the duty manager of Vistara airlines reported that they had caught a passenger (Kapoor) who allegedly travelled from Delhi to Srinagar and returned by the same flight using a fake name. “Kapoor was caught for suspicious activities. When we questioned him, he revealed that he had been previously involved in several theft cases at railway stations and at the Delhi airport. During interrogation, Kapoor disclosed he had changed his name as he has been black listed by some airlines for his involvement in thefts and is not allowed to fly,” Bhatia said.

“He said he forged an Aadhar card and booked a plane ticket in the name of Sachin Gupta with Vistara airlines. “The suspect planned to steal valuables from cabin bags of other passengers but could not succeed as his attempts to reach out to bags were noticed by cabin crew and he was apprehended,” the DCP said.

Bhatia said Kapoor has been booked at least six times in the past for stealing in aircraft while five cases of theft are registered against him at railway stations. The officer said the Delhi Police had arrested Kapoor in 2007 when his alleged act of stealing from a cabin baggage was caught in an in-flight CCTV camera.

The class 12 drop-out allegedly told the police he got idea of stealing from aircraft as he frequently used to travel abroad. “He said initially he tried his hand at his father’s export business, settled in South Korea. About ten years ago, he tried to expand the business to Malaysia but failed. While trying to do so, he used travel abroad frequently. He has lived in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia for a total of at least two years. It is due to his failure in the business and frequent air travels that he came up with the idea of stealing from co-passengers to maintain a lavish lifestyle,” the officer said.