Man posing as ‘baba’ and seeking alms steals bank staffer’s diamond ring, arrested

BENGALURU: The Cubbon Park police have arrested a man who posed as a ‘baba’ (holy man) and stole a diamond ring worth Rs 4.5 lakh from a bank staffer on Church Street. The incident had occurred on January 10.

Salat Dileep, a native of Gujarat, was posing as a holy man and seeking alms on Church Street. He approached Ujwal, a bank employee and sought alms. When Ujwal refused, Dileep snatched a diamond ring which Ujwal was wearing, pretended to swallow it, and escaped from the scene.

Acting on Ujwal’s complaint, the Cubbon Park police went through hours of footage from CCTV cameras and traced the culprit. During questioning, Dileep revealed that he had not swallowed the diamond ring, but had kept it in his mouth. The police have now recovered the ring.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shekhar H T briefing the media.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shekhar H T said, “Ujwal was standing on Church Street when a man dressed as a godman approached him and sought alms. When Ujwal said he didn’t have money, Dileep snatched the 10.5 gm gold ring embedded with a diamond, and put it into his mouth. The next day, he was trying to sell the ring near Siddalingaiah Circle. The Cubbon Park police, who got information, rushed to the spot and secured the culprit”.

The accused hails from Gomtipur in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, the DCP said. “He had come to Bengaluru about a month ago and was involved in begging and would sleep at the Cantonment railway station. The police have seized the ring and taken up further investigation. He has been remanded to judicial custody”, the officer added.