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Old Habits Die Hard. The age-old saying aptly applies to Hemant Das a notorious habitual thief who broke the vow he had taken, when he was arrested last October in a burglary, by committing a similar offence once again.
On Monday, the Cuttack police arrested Hemant in connection with the theft of gold ornaments worth over Rs 3 lakh from a house at Bikash Nagar area in the city. Hemant went by the sobriquet of ‘Crowbar Man’ for his audacious house break-ins. He was last arrested in October 2021 in connection with a theft case by the Commissionerate Police from Bhubaneswar.
During the probe of that case, it was found that Hemant would to lead a high life and mostly spent the spoils of his loot by staying in five star hotels and splurged on call girls when he travelled to different parts of the country.
ACP Amarendra Panda said that Hemant used to commit burglaries alone using a simple crowbar.
A driver by profession, Hemant was first arrested in connection with an assault case in the 1980s. It was during his stay in jail when he developed proximity with a burglar who taught him the tricks of the trade. From 1986 onwards, Hemant became a professional burglar.
Though Hemant had earlier confessed to his involvement in over 500 cases, police so far have confirmed his involvement in 110 cases.
“I have been doing robberies since 1986 and it is now difficult for me to change, “Hemant had said infamously while claiming that his son is an advocate.
He said that his son had also persuaded him to give up his illegal profession, following which he had taken a vow to mend his ways. However, his latest arrest has once again proved that old habits seldom change.
