Hyderabad: Bollywood actor Sunil Shetty’s namesake carries out series of burglaries; held, ornaments worth Rs 10L seized

Hyderabad: Police have arrested Bollywood actor Sunil Shetty’s namesake for a series of burglaries in Hyderabad.

A repeat offender, he committed four thefts in a month. Police have recovered gold and silver ornaments worth nearly Rs 10 lakh from his possession.

Who is ‘Sunil Shetty’?

Addressing a press conference, ACP A. Sudhakar said that the arrested man has been identified as Mohammad Saleem alias Sunil Shetty alias Ibrahim alias Shetty Saleem (52), a resident of Falaknuma, Nawabsab Kunta, and Sanjay Gandhi Nagar areas of the city.

Driven by his admiration for film star Sunil Shetty, he adopted the actor’s name as part of his identity.

Crime began at 16

The ACP also revealed that Saleem began committing thefts at the age of 16, allegedly to support a romantic relationship. His criminal journey started with stealing from his own family’s grocery shop. After being caught by his parents, he fled home and gradually transformed into a professional burglar.

Over 150 cases, 26 jail terms

Over the years, Saleem has been booked in more than 150 house burglary cases across three police commissionerates. He has been sent to jail 26 times. A suspect sheet is pending against him at the Kanchanbagh police station.

He was also detained under the Preventive Detention (PD) Act twice, once in 2018 by Kanchanbagh police and again in 2021 by Falaknuma police.

Fresh case and property recovery

In the latest operation, Bandlaguda police arrested Saleem in connection with four recent burglary cases. The police recovered 10 grams of gold ornaments and 10 grams of silver articles from him. Following his arrest, the accused was remanded to judicial custody, the ACP said.