This story is from August 4, 2014

M S University alumnus held for thefts at eight shops

When he passed out of M S University in 2004, Ajit Pillai nurtured dreams of being an entrepreneur.
M S University alumnus held for thefts at eight shops
VADODARA: When he passed out of M S University (MSU) in 2004, Ajit Pillai nurtured dreams of being an entrepreneur.
However, Pillai landed in police custody on Saturday for committing burglaries in shops across the city. Pillai was arrested from Gorwa Road outside a shopping mall when he was trying to sell some stolen goods. The police had received a tip-off that Pillai would be selling the goods there following which they kept watch in the area.
He was produced before a local court on Sunday that remanded him in police custody for one day. The police said Pillai had completed MSc from M S University and launched an event management firm in partnership. "He launched a firm in the city along with his partner Abhay Verma. But Verma pulled out of the partnership later and Pillai was forced to manage the firm alone. He couldn't handle the business and soon got trapped under debts worth lakhs of rupees," said Gorwa police inspector, R N Patel.
Pillai owed Rs 8 lakh to several people but he couldn't pay the debts. "He thought that he could earn money quickly by stealing goods and valuables from shops. The accused took to burglary about 10 months ago and stole valuables and cash worth Rs 7 lakh. He broke into eight shops in different areas over last few months," Patel told TOI. What surprised the police is that despite being educated, Pillai learnt to break open locks on his own and he wasn't part of any gang.
The accused has admitted to have stolen electronic items, car tapes and Rs 96,000 cash from Gorwa, saris worth Rs 54,000 from Sama, laptops, cash and saris worth Rs 3.09 lakh from Manjalpur and cash and gold jewellery worth Rs 1.97 lakh from Makarpura.
The police said Pillai was married and his family stays in Ahmedabad. He was caught from Gorwa Road while selling electronic items. "We sought his remand to find out whether he has committed more burglaries and whether he was in touch with any gang," Patel said.
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