Shopping mall burglar nabbed in 24 hours

Nellore: The police apprehended the accused within 24 hours, who looted huge cash from a shopping mall in the city late on Thursday and recovered Rs 15.94 lakh from him, who is working as an accountant in the mall.

It may be recalled that a person entered the fourth floor of a popular shopping mall located in VRC Centre in the city late on Thursday and looted around Rs 16 lakh from the cash counters hiding himself from the focus of CCTV cameras.

Owner of the shopping mall Bayya Srinivasulu lodged a complaint with the Chinnabazar police and they registered a case. City DSP J Srinivasulu Reddy, interacting with the media on Saturday, said that the police, who suspected the modus operandi of burglary and concentrated on the CCTV visuals. The accused was from the same shopping mall, who works in a godown, the DSP stated.

The police arrested Katti Mahendra alias Mani, who is working as an accountant. The 26-year-old Mani is resident of Pedda Cherukuru village and has been working in the shopping mall for the last five years.

In the early hours of August 9, he committed the theft entering from a hole meant for exhaust fan. He, after taking the entire money from the cash counter, failed to leave from the same entry.

So, he waited till morning hours in the lady's toilet and left the place as soon as customers started visiting the mall managing to hide from the cameras. But police found his presence in the morning hours on Friday in the mall visuals and also checked attendance registers and they found Mani was missing from his workplace.

The police conducted a raid on a hotel close to RTC Complex on Saturday and arrested him. Mani confessed to the police that he had committed the offence owing to huge burden of personal debts. District SP Aishwarya Rastogi appreciated efforts of the police for resolving the case within 24 hours.