A thief implicated in more than 60 cases turns out to be a Robinhood-number for a village in UP

The accused told police during interrogation that he had committed 27 burglaries since 2024, when he was released from jail, and the stolen gold ornaments, silver and cash were used to run an NGO that helped school children. Illustration by Soumyadip Sinha

A man accused of carrying out dozens of house burglaries in Telangana allegedly used the proceeds of the crime to fund charity events in his native village, sponsor vacations for friends and maintain an opulent lifestyle, according to the Vikarabad police, who arrested him in connection with the recent burglary case.

An investigation into a burglary at Manikanta Nagar Colony in Vikarabad led to the arrest of Vikas Singh Takoor alias Tej Singh, a native of Uttar Pradesh. On May 1, gold ornaments weighing 1.5 tolas and 2.1 lakh in cash were stolen from a locked house in Vikarabad.

Vikarabad Superintendent of Police Sneha Mehra said Vikas Singh lived in Sangareddy area and posed as a daily wage laborer while searching locked houses at night. A special team tracked him through technical evidence, surveillance footage and CCTV footage before nabbing him near Vikarabad railway station.

A weapon and some jewelery were seized from the accused. | Photo credit: Worksheet

During interrogation, the accused allegedly confessed to 27 burglaries committed after his release from jail on June 26, 2024, across Vikarabad, Medak, Kyberabad and Malkajgiri commissionerate limits. Police said he confessed to stealing 157 tolas of gold, 256 tolas of silver and Rs 8.22 lakh in cash.

Investigators said Vikas Singh started committing burglaries at the age of 16 and had previously been arrested in 34 cases. The latest confessions bring the number of cases linked to him to 61.

“The accused spent part of the proceeds on air travel, luxury hotel stays and holiday trips. He also allegedly created a charitable image in his native village through an NGO called ‘Helping Hands’, distributed school bags and notebooks to students and sponsored trips for friends to Chennai, Goa, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Bengaluru, Rajasthan.

The investigation also revealed the involvement of four gold traders from Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Police said the accused sold the stolen gold through his mother to traders who allegedly encouraged him to continue committing burglaries and provided advance money whenever he ran into financial difficulties.

Investigators further alleged that when the accused was considering giving up the crime, the traders jointly gave him ₹40,000 and encouraged him to buy an illegal firearm. A 5mm pistol and stolen gold ornaments were recovered.

“The accused now faces a total of 61 criminal proceedings, including 34 previous cases and 27 crimes to which he confessed after his release from serving his sentence. We are taking action not only against the robber, but also against those who allegedly incited and supported his criminal activity,” added the police officer.

She said cases have been registered against suspected recipients of stolen property under provisions relating to organized crime, violation of the Arms Act and other relevant laws. If necessary, preventive detention proceedings would also be considered.

Published – 04 Jun 2026 20:04 IST