Pune: Kondhwa police have arrested a BE (IT) graduate (24) from Gujarat for allegedly stealing valuables from the homes of women living alone after befriending them on social media.A woman from Kodhwa lodged a complaint with the police on June 25. The police tracked the WiFi connections that the suspect used for communicating with the woman and arrested Yash Kailas Bhulchandani from Mahesana in Gujarat during the investigation.The police also recovered 17 SIM cards and other valuables from his possession.“He has deleted data from his cellphone and social media applications. We, however, suspect that he has committed similar thefts in Pune, Bengaluru, Secunderabad and other cities,” said Santosh Khetmalas, senior inspector of the Kondhwa police station.“The arrested man is a BE (IT) graduate from Mahesana in Gujarat. He has earlier worked with an IT company, but lost his job. He was unemployed,” Khetmalas said.He said, “Bhulchandani used social media applications to identify and contact women living alone. He befriended them through chats and voice calls using the in-app calling facilities. He deliberately avoided regular cellphone calls or sending text messages so that the police could not track him.”“After women became confident with him, he visited their homes and allegedly stole valuables from cupboards whenever the opportunities presented themselves. After the thefts, he would stop communicating with the women,” he said.“He has also surrendered his passport to avoid further scrutiny by investigating agencies,” Khetmalas said. Explaining the motive, the officer said, “Bhulchandani had suffered heavy losses in the stock market and allegedly turned to theft to recover the money. We would coordinate with police units in the cities where he travelled and contacted single working women.”The officer added that the suspect repeatedly formatted his cellphone and deleted all the data in an attempt to destroy evidence.
