‘Spiderman’ in city police’s net

Vijay Thakur became notorious as the Spiderman, but he didn't scale walls or climb high rises to  save fair ladies or nab crooks. He did it to rob houses, as many as  17 of them, before the long arm  of the law caught up with him on Wednesday.

In his latest heist Thakur, who lives in a hutment in Juhapura, burgled the residence of an NRI in Suvidha Towers, Vejalpur, and did away with the women's gold chain, watch and valuables.

Unfortunately for him, a police informer recognized the Spiderman, who had a penchant for climbing up to the 10th floor of buildings to commit crimes, near Sonal Cinema in Juhapura and a policer posse led by Vejalpur PI JM Bharwad  soon nabbed him.

Spiderman was a history-sheeter, the police found out, with a record dating back to 2006 and before that. "I committed 23 robberies in the pre-2006 period," he told the police.

Under intense interrogation, the cops learned that in 2006 Thakur had robbed and murdered a 55-year-old woman, Chandrikaben near RTO Circle. After a lower court found him guilty, he appealed to a higher court and got out on bail.

Spiderman would drive his motor-bike near a society and wait till the sun set. He would then climb the apartment's wall and go up the 10th floor or the terrace.

Having cased the joint well, he knew which house was locked and waiting for him. Sometimes, he would audaciously sleep for up to three days at a time in the place he had burgled.