A 33-year-old pickpocket, who stayed in a posh rented apartment in Hyderabad, used to shell out Rs 30,00o rent every month and send his two kids to an upmarket international school in the city.

The pickpocket, identified as Thanedar Singh Kushva, made plenty of money from gambling, investing in the satta market and cricket betting apart from pickpocketing. He has also reportedly spent time in Pune's Yerawada jail when Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab was an inmate there.

Kushva was nabbed from Hyderabad on Monday (December 25), according to Government Railway Police (GRP) at Secunderabad.

Do you know this 'dipper'?

  1. Kushva has been a pickpocket since 2004
  2. He targets victims on long-distance trains
  3. He is believed to have stolen cash and jewellery worth Rs 2 crore over a period of time
  4. He is also involved in around 400 offences
Hyderabad pickpocket
Thanedar Singh Kushva is believed to have stolen cash and jewellery worth Rs 2 crore over a period of time.CCO Public domain

Kushva reportedly lived in a high-end apartment in Chandanagar area and moved there in 2016. Also, the annual fee of each of his two children is Rs 2 lakh.

Following his arrest, the GRP retrieved Rs 13 lakh cash and gold jewellery worth at least Rs 27 lakh. Officials said that he uses an easy-peasy shaving blade to slit pockets of the victims. He also stole property worth around Rs 20,000 each trip.

"The accused would get into trains either by buying a ticket of a reserved compartment or travel in an unreserved compartment," a senior officer told English daily TOI. The officer also said that Kushva would make sure that he stole valuables and cash worth at least Rs 20,000 in each trip. He reportedly made some eight such trips per month.

However, police couldn't get hold of him since 2015.

Kushva, who hails from Aligarh district in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested by the Banjara Hills police in 2007 and again in 2011. Also, he is also an accused in a robbery case at Vikarabad in 2019.

Recently, the GRP officials nabbed him after a two-wheeler that Kushva and his accomplice Arun used, parked under a flyover. As the duo returned to pick up the two-wheeler, they noticed the cops and tried to run following which Kushva was nabbed. However, Arun managed to escape.

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