Five star hotel stay to driving auto, serial thief turns a new leaf

“I met the commissioner of police and joint commissioner (south) besides officials at police stations where cases are pending against me. I used to live in five-star hotels and used to wear shirts worth Rs 3,500. But now, I live with what I get by driving an autorickshaw. But no regrets,” Kamalakannan told DT Next, adding that he has not been involved in any offence since May -- after he got married. He estimates that he could have stolen properties and cash worth aroundRs 1 crore.

After his first meeting with C Maheswari, joint commissioner of police, south, Kamalakannan said, “I met the city police commissioner on Friday to talk about my reformed life. It was he who advised me to meet JC south,” Kamalakannan said while talking to thisnewspaper.

“After my marriage in May this year, I have not committed any crime. My wife was instrumental in encouraging me to think of a reformed life,” noted Kamalakannan, a native of Tiruvannamalai. He had been living in Chennai and its suburbs since 2007 and working in the construction industry.

“I started committing burglaries somewhere around 2014. I was jailed once after I was involved in an assault case. In prison, I met Srinivasan, who had committed burglary cases. After we served our sentences, he came to my home one day after theft and I gave him shelter. He gave me Rs10,000 for that. But when he was arrested by the police, I was also arrested. I was arrested one more time for a crime I had not committed. After that, I decided to do it,” recalled Kamalakannan, a Class4 drop out.

He estimates that he could have committed more than 20 house breaks between 2014 and 2018. But he doesn’t have any money with him now. “I used to spend lavishly at hotels, food and clothes. Also, the police used to arrest me after every offence and seized whatever was left from the crime. I had to spend on lawyers as well. The police have registered 40 cases against me. But I might have committed just over 20 offences,” he said.

He had been to jail at least 10 times and has become well versed with the procedures of prison, police station and court. He believes that he will not be arrested again for crimes he had not committed and hopes to lead a decent life with his family.