The man, who had been pursued in 13 cities for stealing wallets and electronic gadgets, was arrested by the Bidhannagar police last week. He has claimed that he himself was a victim of fraud by the owner of a paying guest accommodation in New Town, who reportedly did not return his money when he left a month ahead of schedule, as stated by the police.

Kurapati Ajay, who has been brought to Calcutta on transit remand from Kerala, reportedly told the police that he had come to New Town a few years ago.

“He has claimed that he had lodged a police complaint, too, during that time. We are yet to verify his statement,” an officer of Bidhannagar City Police said on Tuesday.

According to the police, Ajay had been stealing wallets and mobile phones and had been purchasing gold and high-end phones over the past four years using stolen credit and debit cards.

According to his statement to the police, he sold the new phones and the gold on an online trading portal. “And the money he transferred into a bank account was either for gambling or to book an accommodation at his next destination,” the officer said.

Ajay’s modus operandi was to check into guest houses and hotels in new cities, make friends, and steal their wallets and gadgets before using their cards to make online purchases. These purchased articles were then sold on online portals to encash the money.

The police have so far come across records of 11 FIRs against him apart from the one registered by Bidhannagar police.

Ajay has cases in Sikkim, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Kerala, Rajasthan and Pondicherry.

The police said that Ajay had been arrested twice before — once by Gangtok Police and then by Bengaluru Police.

Ajay has reportedly told the police that he had been to Calcutta before, and he was here a few years ago at a time when he “did not commit a crime” but was duped
himself.

The police said that while probing deeper into the crime, they found that to reduce dependence on other people, Ajay had used fake documents to open e-wallets and used them to transfer the swindled money.

“There are many criminals who borrow others’ bank accounts to transfer funds to involve other associates in the crime. But this man operated alone,” the officer said.