Hyderabad: Notorious burglar involved in over 100 cases arrested again
Released from prison in May, Mohd Saleem alias ‘Sunil Shetty’ went on to loot two houses in the last one month; Saleem identifies locked houses and enters them through open ventilators and burgles them
Published Date - 26 June 2025, 08:09 PM
Hyderabad: This 51-year-old painter from Falaknuma who goes with an alias of Sunil Shetty, adopted from his favourite Bollywood action star, has been committing burglaries for more than three decades and has been arrested at least 25 times.
Mohd Saleem alias Sunil Shetty, the notorious burglar who was involved in more than 100 cases, was again arrested by the Bandlaguda police on Thursday and 35 gms of gold ornaments were recovered from him. Recently released from the prison in May, he went on to burgle two houses in the last one month.
A diehard fan of Bollywood star Suniel Shetty, Mohd Saleem has made numerous trips to the actor’s residence in Bandra, Mumbai, but failed to meet him till date. To the police, he is better known by his pet name, Sunil Shetty.
According to the police, Saleem identifies locked houses and enters them through the open ventilators and burgles them without damaging doors and windows. “For the police patrol teams, the house appears to be intact from outside,” said A Sudhakar, ACP, Chandrayangutta division.
With the stolen property, he leads a lavish life and visits tourist places and even enjoys sightseeing on tourist helicopters. “His area of operation is limited to old city as he has fair knowledge about the topography of the area,” the ACP said.
Saleem was produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody.