Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): Jabalpur police's smart trick helped them catch a notorious thief on Friday. The cops, instead of 'WANTED' posters that are usually used for the criminals, put up 'Missing person' posters with the thief's photographs and Rs 10,000 award.

The posters promised the big reward in exchange of the detailed information on the whereabouts of the accused leading to his arrest on Friday in the Kanchanpur area of the district.

During interrogation, he admitted to the theft and revealed the involvement of two accomplices. Police recovered ₹1.18 lakh from the stolen amount based on their inputs. All three were arrested and produced before the court, which sent them to judicial custody.

According to information, the incident occurred on the night of January 1 at Ashish Computer Store. Store employee Surya Narayan Mishra reported that after closing the shop at 10 PM, he found the lock broken and the cash counter looted the next morning. Cash worth Rs. 1.5 lakh and a mobile phone were stolen.

Under the supervision of Jabalpur SP, a special team was formed to investigate. CCTV footage from the store showed a suspect committing the theft. The police identified him as Manish Yadav, a resident of Kanchanpur. Posters with his picture were placed around the city, offering a reward of ₹10,000 for information.

Police investigation

Following a tip-off, Yadav was arrested in the Kanchanpur area of the district on Friday. Police took him into custody and began interrogation. During interrogation, Yadav revealed that there were two more accomplices, Monu Rajput and Sarju Dubey, both residents of Gorakhpur. While Manish broke into the shop, his accomplices kept watch outside.

Acting on the information extracted in the interrogation, police sent a team to Gorakhpur and nabbed the other two accused. Police managed to recover Rs. 1 lakh out of the stolen amount. All the accused have been presented before the court and are in judicial custody.