Bangalore man arrested for stealing rare, century-old book from Nilgiri library

34-year-old Bangalore resident arrested for stealing 116-year-old book from 160-year-old Nilgiri Library.

A 34-year-old Bangalore resident was arrested for stealing a 116-year-old book from the 160-year-old Nilgiri Library in Udhagamandalam.

Police officials identified the accused as Katitra Debnath, 34, a resident of Koramangala in Bangalore. According to officials, office-bearers at the library were taking stock of books, following the completion of the Ooty Literature Fest in October, when they realized that the century-old book, The Pirates of Malabar and An Englishwoman in India Two Hundred Years Ago, by Colonel John Biddulph, was missing from the library.

One of the office-bearers of the library registered a complaint with the Nilgiris district police who began investigations. A few weeks later, the police were tipped-off about the sale of the book through Instagram. They tracked down the mobile phone user’s details using resources from the Cyber Crime Cell and traced the mobile phone number to Debnath, who was arrested and brought to the Nilgiris where he was remanded to judicial custody.

Police officials said that Debnath earned a living by stealing rare books from across India and selling them to collectors. During his arrest, a tranche of rare books from across India were seized from his home. They said that he was hoping to sell the book stolen from the library for upwards of ₹10,000.