Behind the heist: Big dreams, criminal mind

Like his father, Lokesh Srivas was expected to earn a meagre income as a barber-cut hair, sweep the floor once the client left, repeat.

- Karn Pratap Singh

But Srivas's dreams were too big to be held hostage in Kawardha, a sleepy town in Chhattisgarh's Kabirdham district, where he grew up in abject poverty. Instead, he dreamed of a chain of salons, gyms, and an SUV.

To fulfil these aspirations, however, the 31-year-old allegedly turned to a life of crime - one that started with a theft at a grocery store in his village in 2007, and morphed into elaborate, meticulously planned heists in at least five states that caught up with him again last month.

On September 24 and 25, Srivas allegedly attempted his riskiest job - taking off with 18.6kg gold jewellery and cash worth ₹20 crore from a jewellery store in Bhogal in south Delhi. Four days later, after an intense investigation that brought the Delhi and Chhattisgarh Police forces together, he was arrested from a dingy room in Bhilai, along with at least 200 pieces of jewellery and ₹12.5 lakh in cash.

In the past, he committed at least three big heists - one each in Bhilai (Chattisgarh), Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. He was arrested after each successful heist, only to get out on bail and strike again. And along the way, he earned monikers from law enforcement - for Delhi Police, he is a "lone wolf jewel thief", and for Chhattisgarh Police, he is their "local Charles Sobhraj".

A history of crime

Srivas committed his first burglary when he was just 16, according to officers in Chhattisgarh and Delhi Police who have either been on his trail in the last few years or interrogated him after the heist in the Capital. His target then was a grocery store in his village, Naya Para, 25km away from Karwadha town. He stole some cash, chocolates, snacks, beverages and some food grain for himself and his family.