Police officials from the West Division on Friday said that they have arrested a notorious burglar called Karthik Kumar alias Escape Karthik. The arrested criminal is said to have committed at least 80 burglaries.
The police said that five cases have been cracked with the arrest of Karthik and gold ornaments worth Rs 11.43 lakh have been seized from him. Notably, this is the 17th time that Karthik has been arrested. He had earlier managed to escape twice from police custody, which earned him the nickname of ‘Escape Karthik’ in police circles.
A police officer said, “He is involved in at least 80 theft cases. These cases have been reported from many parts of Bengaluru, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. He first committed crime at the age of 16 in 2005, when he stole ornaments from a house. He used to come out on bail and again commit burglary. In 2008, he managed to escape from Parappana Agrahara Central Prisons in a food van. He was caught again after 45 days.”
In 2010, Karthik escaped from police custody when he was taken for a spot mahazar (recreation of the crime scene) but was caught again later.
The police officer said, “Karthik’s reflexes were good. He was good at running, jumping and climbing and that helped him to commit burglary. However, he was caught by the public in Mysuru while stealing from a house around two years ago and was thrashed severely. His hand got injured in the incident. Later, his girlfriend’s brother stabbed his leg and he can no longer run like before. But we still deploy young and additional personnel when he is taken for a mahazar or to the court to prevent him from escaping.”