Kozhikode: Kasaba Police on Tuesday arrested notorious criminal Sunil Gupta (45) of Malayankeezhu in Thiruvananthapuram, from Palayam. Gupta has been accused of more than 60 theft cases in different parts of the state, police said.
Cops apprehended him in the early hours of Tuesday. They said he was returning to the city after breaking into three shops at Elathur. Police also seized items he burgled from the shop.

After the recent theft at the Government Achuthan Girls Higher Secondary School, the Kasaba Police were on the lookout for Gupta. They had identified him from the CCTV footage at the school.

Cops said he had also burgled Puthur Durga Devi temple, RM Janasevana Kendram, BEM Girls School, Puthiyangadi and a house near Elathur.

Theft cases have been registered against him in Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Malappuram and Kozhikode districts. 

Police said he was sentenced to three years in jail in a theft case registered in Maradu, Kochi. The latest series of thefts started after he came out on bail one-and-a-half years ago.

Police said he would walk along the railway tracks, observe the vulnerable houses, and break into them.

Kasaba police team led by Inspector Kiran C Nair and the city crime squad nabbed Gupta.