Puttaparthi Urban police on Friday arrested a man for allegedly stealing ₹17.45 lakh from the accounts section of Sanskruthi College at Brahmanapalli. They recovered ₹4.5 lakh in cash and several other items from him.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Superintendent of Police (SP) S. Satish Kumar and Additional SP Ankita Surana said that the accused has been identified as 28-year-old Alex Manohar Pawar alias Murali, a native of Gujarat. Two other suspects, Kajuram alias Akash (23) from Bihar and Bedi alias Ajay Chauhan (20) from Uttar Pradesh are currently absconding. Police informed that three special teams have been formed to arrest them.

The SP said that the theft reportedly occurred on the night of July 23, when the three-member gang allegedly entered the accounts section from the back side of the building, broke open the almirah and fled with ₹17,45,450. Police registered a criminal case against the accused under various sections of the BNS and launched an investigation.

Using technical evidence and tracking the suspects’ movements, police arrested Pawar around 9.30 p.m. on Friday near Veerabrahmendra Swamy temple at Mamillakunta Cross. They also seized a smart watch, a mobile and a bag. Pawan had allegedly been involved in seven cases of burglary across various places in the country.