Overview

• Vikas Hagawane, a 31-year-old computer science graduate, was arrested in Delhi for a series of thefts at hospitals in Pune, Mumbai, Jaipur, and Delhi-NCR.
• Hagawane carried out the thefts as retaliation after being denied concessions on a ₹20–25 lakh Covid-19 treatment bill in 2021, which left him in severe debt.
• Police tracked him to a Paharganj hotel using CCTV footage and technical surveillance following a theft at Apollo Hospital on April 10, 2025.
• Recovered items included laptops, a mobile phone, branded accessories, and a forged bill book used to create fake invoices for selling stolen items.
• Authorities are coordinating with Jaipur police to link him to additional cases, as he reportedly committed thefts there over a three-week period before arriving in Delhi.