IIT graduate caught for theft of Rs 12 lakh worth items

Bengaluru: A 28 year old IIT graduate was arrested by Sampigehalli police for allegedly stealing high-end cameras and lenses from people he trapped through online portals. Kartik Addagarla, who hails from Visakhapatnam, was found in a hotel in Gandhinagar, west Bengaluru; with four cameras and three lenses worth Rs. 12 lakh.

An initial investigation has revealed that Addagarla has been involved in more than 25 cases of cheating. Cases have been filed against in many major cities of the country like Mumbai and Kolkata, in which he is accused of selling electrical gadgets taken on rent. Police were taken aback when they got to know about his background.

Addagarla’s father is an assistant commander in the Navy and his mother a bank manager in Andhra Pradesh. He completed a computer science degree from IIT Delhi in 2012 and then joined IIM Kolkata in 2013. Later, he dropped out when he was caught cheating his classmates of money in online gambling games.

From then on, Addagarla has been moving from city to city, making a living out of cheating people. Police informed that he would approach victims through online portals, in the guise of a professional cameraman or businessman. He would fix a meeting in the hotel he was staying at, and give the address and landline number of that place. He would collect cameras and other gadgets under the pretext of renting it, and later sell it on another online portal.

When one such victim from Sampigehalli registered a complaint, the police got involved in the case. They tracked Addagarla for over two months and caught him when he arrived in Bengaluru on May 25. Police said that he never carried any bag or suitcase. He would buy a set of clothes, use them for a couple of weeks, throw them away and buy new ones again.