Mumbai, April 3 -- A 34-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly stealing jewellery worth Rs.1.75 crore from a Jain temple inside the upscale Avighna Estate complex in Lalbaug, where he previously worked as a security guard. The accused had fled to his sister's place in Madhya Pradesh, from where he was arrested, the police said. The accused, identified as Jeetendra alias Jitan alias Bunty alias Pandit alias Bhagwati Prasad Nagaich, is a native of Bhind district in Madhya Pradesh and has at least 17 criminal cases registered against him. He had recently been released from jail and was employed as a security guard in the housing society before being dismissed for negligence, the police said. According to the police, the theft came to light on Monday morning when priests opened the temple of Lord Simandhar Swami. Gold ornaments weighing around 1.4 kg- including armbands, forehead pieces, a neck garland, and jewellery for the hands and legs- valued at approximately Rs.1.5 crore, along with a diamond tilak worth Rs.25 lakh, were found missing. Subsequently, a complaint was lodged by Jayesh Jain, a resident of the complex and an executive member of the temple trust, following which a case was registered against an unknown person under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for theft and house-breaking. Police formed special teams and analysed footage from nearly 200 CCTV cameras, which led them to identify the accused as a former security guard at the complex. Investigators tracked him down using digital payment records from a hotel where he had stayed, which helped them obtain his mobile number. "He was eventually apprehended from the Chambal region in Bhind district. He was hiding in his sister's house and when the police reached there, fled to another relative's house and hid on the terrace, where he was caught," said deputy commissioner of police, Zone IV, R Ragasudha, adding that he had planned to flee to Nepal. The stolen jewelelry was subsequently seized from the accused possession. Police also raised concerns over the hiring process of the security agencies, noting that the accused, a history-sheeter, had been employed through a third-party contractor. "All his previous cases are registered under different aliases, which may have helped him evade detection during background checks," Ragasudha said....