High heist: In a span of six months, six Hyderabad women robbed of ₹2 crore while onboard

In a span of less than six months, six women from Hyderabad have been robbed to the tune of ₹1.5 crore- ₹2 crore while the plane was in the air

Rajesh Kapoor, 40, a resident of Pahargunj in Delhi, who cleaned up the cabin baggage of 10 women which had jewellery, gold and cash while the plane was in the air has been nabbed by the police of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. He was flown to Hyderabad on a transit warrant on June 15 following his arrest by the Indira Gandhi International Police in Delhi in May.

Six women in Hyderabad have been robbed to the tune of ₹1.5 crore- ₹2 crore in a span of less than six months where Rajesh Kapoor pocketed gold, diamonds and cash in their cabin baggage. The police have seized over two kilograms of gold and diamonds along with cash from the man in cases reported across RGIA, Gachibowli, Narsingi and and Vanasthalipuram. 

One of the first in the series of cases was booked by the Gachibowli police on March 26. The target was a 26-year-old woman who was flying to the United States for higher studies on a flight via Mumbai with her parents. “We were going to see our daughter off to the U.S. via Mumbai. Upon reaching there we discovered all her jewellery, about 250-300 grams of gold and diamonds worth ₹30 lakh-₹35 lakh, missing. We tried to check everywhere but couldn’t find it,” said the victim’s father who lodged a complaint with the police and did not wish to be named.  

“We never thought such a thing could happen in a flight. People did not believe us, they said we might have misplaced the jewellery somewhere. This is really unusual,” said the complainant. Others conned in this scam are equally shocked.  

Kapoor was booked thrice by the RGIA police – with the first case registered on May 16. “The man targeted women aged between 40 and 55 years who were travelling alone. Two women were travelling on connecting flights to America, while one was travelling from Bengaluru to Hyderabad,” explained Nageswara Rao, the investigating official.  

The victims changed every week, but his modus operandi remained the same. Kapoor planned each of his thefts. The man, who travelled 200 times in just 110 days, did not return to Delhi until the job was done, even if that meant taking a new flight to a new destination.