A 19-year-old BCA student who had been arrested for alleged theft of cash and jewellery worth around ₹1.5 crore from his neighbour’s apartment in a Behala housing complex, had recently purchased a cash counting machine through an e-commerce portal — a clue that helped police zero in on him.

Police said Harshvardhan Shaw was arrested on Monday. The police carried out a detailed analysis of footage from 135 CCTV cameras at the housing society during the probe.

“After checking his recent purchase list, we found he had bought a cash counting machine on January 22 through an e-commerce portal. His Internet search history also revealed that he was looking for an electric saw, which he possibly wanted as a break-in device,” said an officer.

Based on his statement, the police have recovered the entire stolen booty.

Shaw has been booked under sections of theft by the officers of Sarsuna police station, where the complaint was lodged on January 24.

He is in police remand till February 8.