The Magadi Road police have arrested a 27-year-old former software engineer allegedly involved in a series of house break thefts and chain snatching cases in Bengaluru to arrange money for online betting.

K.A. Murthy, a resident of Hongasandra in Begur, is a BE graduate from Shivamogga. He is allegedly addicted to gambling. He had taken huge loans and his father had to sell their ancestral house to repay the loans, said the police.

Unable to bear the humiliation, the family shifted to Bengaluru and Murthy joined an IT firm, a police officer said.

However, Murthy’s addiction to online gambling continued. He spent his salary on online gambling and resorted to stealing valuables from houses to arrange the money, the police added.

He would allegedly move around residential areas to identify locked houses and search for the keys, which were kept in the usual places, such as under the doormat, window sill or flower pots. He would gain entry into such houses, steal valuables and keep the key back.

He is named in four cases of house break theft at Konanakunte, Avalahalli, Sudduguntepalya, Magadi Road, and had been arrested in some cases.

Recently, he allegedly stole a gold chain from a homemaker who was waiting in the queue to visit the Angala Parameshwari temple on Binny Mill Road.

Based on a complaint, the police identified him through CCTV footage and arrested him. The police seized 245.5 grams of gold valuables worth ₹16.7 lakh, which the accused had pawned in jewellery shops at Madiwala, Parappana Agrahara, Bommasandra and Electronics City.

The accused has been booked for theft and remanded to judicial custody.