Love, luxe and loot: Luck runs out for interstate thief in Bengaluru

MEET Panchakshari Sangayya Swami, a 37-year-old thief with a taste for the high life. A state-level kickboxer and black belt in karate, Swami had a penchant for gifting lavish presents to his loved ones, including a ₹3 crore palatial house to his bar dancer girlfriend and a ₹22 lakh aquarium to a well-known Bollywood actress. But law caught up with him when he was arrested by Bengaluru police on January 20 for stealing gold and silver ornaments worth ₹12.25 lakh from a house in Madiwala.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru

Swami's arrest revealed a staggering criminal past—over 150 cases of robbery and theft across Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka. He had been arrested twice before, in 2012 and 2016, and had spent six years in prison. But despite his notoriety, he continued to evade the law, shifting his base to Bengaluru to avoid detection.