“When it’s a gang that is behind a robbery, arrests are relatively quicker as soon as a member of the gang is nabbed. The arrest of a member usually leads to others in the gang. However, Pittakulu operated alone and was wanted in two cases which date back to 2007 and 2008. We arrested him recently after tracing his whereabouts through his wife and neighbours in Matunga Labour Camp,” said Assistant Police Inspector V R Patil of the Vikhroli police station who is investigating the case. He also said that Pittakulu was remanded to judicial custody last week.

According to the police, Pittakulu had broken into two houses in Kannamwar Nagar in 2007 and a flat on the Punjab Maharashtra Bank premises. “The second house belonged to Kishore Jain, a professor, and one of the houses in Kannamwar Nagar is owned by a lawyer. Pittakulu, who operated during the day time when residents often leave for work, had stolen gold ornaments and cash to the tune of Rs two lakh after gaining entry into these houses,” said Police Inspector P P Kirdat of the Vikhroli police station.

Acting on a tip-off, the police questioned some of Pittakulu’s neighbours who had led them to his house. “We met his pregnant wife, who wasn’t aware of her husband’s whereabouts or what he did for a living. Our suspicions were confirmed when we saw her wearing a gold ring, which had been mentioned by one of the complainants in their list of stolen items. We arrested his wife, but she was later released on bail owing to her medical condition. However, after we grilled his neighbours, they said he used to stay earlier in Dharavi. Then we started tracking him there,” said Patil.