BENGALURU: When Banasawadi police picked up N. Murugan, a 40-year-old man hailing from Tiruvarur in Tamil Nadu, they did not realise he was a prize catch.
His interrogation led them to the cracking of 86 theft cases in the city alone and recovery of nine kilograms of gold, worth more than Rs 1.5 crore.
Moreover, police from other states also took him to custody, as he was wanted by the Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu police.
Interestingly, Murugan was committing these thefts to produce a Tamil movie. He dreamt of making a name in the Tamil film industry. However, the path he chose to make money was a risky one and landed him behind bars.
He was arrested by Banasawadi police in October last year in connection with a burglary, but he is still in police custody as the police are yet to recover his booty.
Sources said that he was wanted by the police of three states — Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu — but he had managed to hoodwink them.
“He was arrested a few years ago in theft cases, but after the release he again took to crime. He started committing robberies, looting banks besides breaking into houses,” an official said.
“His interrogation has led us to crack us 86 cases reported in Bengaluru alone. He confessed that he aspired to become a film producer and thus started committing thefts.”
“He wanted to launch his nephew Suresh, as a hero in a Tamil movie. He promised to make him a hero in films and also lured him to help him in committing thefts,” the official said.
“He started shooting for the film, under the banner N. Rajammal Films. He had spent more than Rs 50 lakh on that but could not complete it. To arrange money for shooting rest of the film, he committed frequent thefts and also struck some banks to make huge money,” the official added.
The police are yet to recover some stolen property from him and have taken him to Hyderabad in this connection. However, two of his associates, including Suresh, are still absconding.
