His assets are worth crores of rupees. He owns a three-storeyed bungalow, a car, a matador, agricultural land and four autorickshaws. But he is no industrialist. Anand Sitapara is wanted by the Gandhigram police for at least 50 burglaries that have taken place over the last five years. While two of his accomplices have been nabbed, Sitapara has managed to elude the long arm of the law.

Sitapara, who used to live in a one-room tenement five years ago and drove an autorickshaw for a living, is now the owner of a bungalow in Shri Hari Society on Kotharia Ring Road where he stays with six members of his family. Hailing from Jamnagar, he has been reportedly tutored in the art of stealing by his elder brother Ashok, an infamous thief in the Saurashtra region.

“He masterminded at least 50 burglaries and decamped with booty worth several lakhs of rupees. Sitapara then built the house and got into the business of teaching unemployed youths to steal. They would later give him a share from the valuables they stole,” said Gandhigram PI Sardarsinh Zala.

The entire matter to came to light when the Gandhigram Police caught Bhavesh Radhanpura and Nilesh Bagatharia after they broke into a closed house a fortnight ago. The police recovered cash, ornaments and electronic goods worth Rs 7 lakh from the duo. On questioning they revealed that they had learnt to steal from Sitapara, whom they used to give a share of the booty.

The police said Radhanpara was also in the business of making ornaments. Most of the ornaments they stole were melted and sold to get cash. The profit was shared with Sitapara.