Bengaluru: IT employee arrested for stealing laptops to repay Tomato crop loss

In Whitefield, Bengaluru, Murugesh, an IT employee, was arrested for stealing 55 laptops worth ₹22 lakhs to repay debts from a failed tomato farming venture. The stolen laptops, sold for Rs 15,000 to Rs 18,000 each, were recovered after a company complaint led to his arrest.

Bengaluru: The Whitefield police have arrested an employee of an IT company who was stealing laptops to pay off his debts. Murugesh, 29, a resident of Torapalli in Hosur taluk, Tamil Nadu, has been taken into custody. The police recovered 55 stolen laptops worth ₹22 lakhs from him.

The laptops were stolen from ITPL's Telecaller India Pvt Ltd in Whitefield. The thefts came to light after the company owner, Atul Halev, filed a complaint. An investigation led to Murugesh's arrest.

Murugesh, a BCA graduate, had joined the company last February. He had been facing severe financial trouble after losing ₹25 lakhs in a tomato farming venture in his hometown. Unable to repay the debts he incurred from borrowing money, he began stealing a laptop each day from his workplace.

Murugesh sold the stolen laptops at a repair and sales shop in Hosur. He received Rs 15,000 to Rs 18,000 for each laptop. The proceeds from selling 45 of the stolen laptops were used to pay off his loan interest.