Nagaland police arrests govt employee involved in 11 burglaries worth nearly Rs 2 crore

Kohima | Nagaland Police has apprehended a state government employee who was allegedly involved in a spree of 11 burglaries, including Kohima Municipal Council office, an officer said on Saturday.

The arrest follows the recent Kohima Municipal Council (KMC) Office heist, in which nearly Rs 1 crore was stolen.

The accused, identified as Kekietuo, a resident of Kohima and an employee in the office of Chief Engineer, Police Engineering Project, has confessed to all crimes during the initial investigation following his arrest on Friday, the officer said.

The arrest comes after a focused two-week investigation launched by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Kohima Police, stated Additional SP and PRO Kohima Police, K Soriso during a press conference held here on Saturday.

The SIT was constituted following the June 3 KMC Office break-in.

Advanced forensic tools, surveillance, financial tracking, and human intelligence gathering were instrumental in cracking the case, he said.

According to Kohima Police, Rs 38 lakh in cash has already been recovered from the residence of the accused in T Khel Kohima Village.

Police also seized vehicles allegedly purchased using the stolen money along with over 50 items used in the crimes, recovered from both his home and vehicle.

Giving out the list of 11 burglaries to which the accused has confessed, police said some of the huge amounts that he managed to steal were Rs 45 lakh from Baptist College Kohima on August 14, 2023, Rs 22.50 lakh from D Khel Kohima Village on January 1, 2024, Rs 10.83 lakh from Entrepreneurs Development Agency and Rs 95 lakh from the office of Kohima Municipal Council on June 3 with other places totalling to Rs 1.86 crore.

Officials said the accused used sophisticated methods to evade detection, such as using gloves and masks, avoiding CCTV coverage, and leaving no physical evidence.

The suspect is believed to have acted alone, but police are actively investigating potential tip-offs or accomplices from within targeted institutions, Soriso said.

Police revealed that intelligence on unusual spending led to tracking the suspect while authorities coordinated with showrooms and used vehicle purchases and high-value transactions to connect the dots following the CCTV detection of the accused using a vehicle in one of the crimes.

Human intelligence and fieldwork played a critical role, he said.

"This arrest is a clear message that crime will not go unpunished. Our officers worked relentlessly, and their efforts reflect our dedication to public safety. We are now focusing on recovering the remaining stolen property and verifying any further accomplices," Soriso said.

The police are probing whether the accused received inside information from any institution, he said.

The accused, who has served in government for over 15 years, is in custody, while further questioning is ongoing to find if he has other accomplices, while formal charges will be filed soon, the ASP added.