Kottayam: Police have arrested the prime accused in the high-profile burglary at a villa in Manganam, where 50 sovereigns of gold were stolen. The accused has been identified as Guru Sajan (41), a native of Madhya Pradesh. He was taken into custody from Morbi in Gujarat by a special police team led by District Police Chief A. Shahul Hameed.

According to officials, Sajan is the leader of the burglary gang involved in the case. The break-in occurred at the villa in Manganam. The burglars forced open the lock of an iron safe and decamped with gold ornaments worth ₹36 lakh. A total of five individuals were part of the operation.

Investigators traced the accused using fingerprint evidence and mobile tower data. On the night of the burglary, over a thousand mobile numbers that connected to the villa’s location were collected and examined, which eventually led to vital clues. Further investigation into a similar case registered in 2016 at Ramadurga police station in Karnataka also pointed towards Sajan. Later,his presence Gujarat. was confirmed with the support of Cyber cell.

Fingerprint analysis provided a breakthrough when prints recovered from the Manganam house matched those collected during his earlier arrest in Karnataka. Fingerprints from a burglary in Thrissur district also matched with him.

Police have identified that Sajan was working at a company in Gujarat. He was living nearby with family. He has a history of serious crimes, including a 2016 gold theft in Karnataka and a case involving a treasury attack, where firearms were also stolen. Warrants remain pending against him in these cases.

Investigations have also revealed that in 2023, Guru Sajan committed burglaries in Alappuzha. Soon after the theft in Kottayam, he committed the one in Thrissur the next day. He had even broken into a wellness clinic at Chempakassery Padi in Manganam, from where he had stolen ₹1,000 kept in a drawer.

The investigation is being spearheaded by DySP KG Aneesh and East Police Inspector U Sreejith.