Stalking the city streets at night, he had cleaned out the most secure of lockers for the past 25 years, leaving the police clueless.

In all this time, he was caught only once, five years ago. Luck however, ran out for him at 3 am on Monday, when Sukumar Barua, one of Bengal’s most-wanted burglars, was arrested by a couple of policemen riding cycles on Hindustan Road.

Anuj Sharma, deputy commissioner of police (south), had introduced a few months ago cycle patrols in all the areas under south Calcutta police stations.

A woman living in one of the apartments in a multi-storeyed building on Hindustan Road had got up on hearing some noise early on Monday. The moment she noticed two figures melt into the darkness, she raised an alarm.

The two men, one carrying a heavy bag, immediately started running down the deserted road. Her cries for help were heard by two constables of Gariahat police station, who were patrolling on their new bicycles.

Pradip Nandy and Bimal Dutta sped after the duo. After pursuing them for a km, police finally caught up with the thieves.

“It was a long chase but the constables pinned down Barua. His accomplice, however, managed to give us the slip. Only after he was brought to the police station did we realise that the thief was none other than Barua,” said a Gariahat thana officer.

The police found a bag on Barua containing gold jewellery worth nearly Rs 10 lakh. He and his accomplice had apparently broken into the flat of Samir Ghosh, a dealer in gold jewellery.

“Ghosh had turned his flat into a storehouse and the woman who raised the alarm lives in an adjacent flat,” deputy commissioner Sharma added. Barua is wanted in four city police stations. “He is from Sonarpur, but knows the city like the back of his hand," say police.