B’luru: Meet the burglar who carried a bible on his loot missions, fed the poor & kept records of his expenses

Team Udayavani, Feb 12, 2022, 12:46 PM IST

A 46-year-old man, who happened to be on the lookout notice of nearly 50 police stations, was recently arrested along with his accomplice on charges of burglary.

John Melwin alias Kariya took to theft way back in 1994 and targeted residences of the rich, including politicians. Notably, he conducted his thefts only during the daytime and had been successful in evading arrest until recently.

Police officials said Melwin used to help the poor and would spend a portion of his loot money to feed the poor around the churches. He would even carry a Bible during his loot missions and visit pilgrimages at either Mysuru or Velankanni after a successful robbery.

As per a DHNS report, Melwin would end up returning the looted money and fleeing if he unknowingly targeted any policeman’s residence. He also maintained a meticulous record of his purchase and expenses in a diary.

Quoting a police source the DHNS report states that Melwin would hide his loot in pits and mark the area for identification later. He chose to live in a dilapidated building near HMT in Jalahalli limits but lived life lavishly and even had a strange addiction to “exotic body massage.” He would tip the masseurs anywhere between Rs 15,000 to 20,000 in cash, police said.

Melwin and his accomplice Manjunath were arrested in connection with the theft at the house of a senior government employee under Vijayanagar police jurisdictional limits on January 7. Police confiscated 360-gram gold jewelry worth 16 lakhs and 2 two-wheelers from them.