Four armed men rob Kalaburagi goldsmith in broad daylight, police form 5 teams to nab culprits

KALABURAGI: In a daring daylight robbery, four armed men made away with nearly 3 kg of gold ornaments after gaining entry into a goldsmith’s store at Saraf Bazaar here on Friday afternoon. They also tied up the goldsmith and gagged him with adhesive tape before fleeing.

According to the police, the four men were armed with a gun and a knife and threatened the goldsmith. After the robbers fled, the building owner and other shopkeepers rescued the goldsmith. The police have formed five teams to nab the culprits.

Police Commissioner Dr Sharanappa, who visited the spot, said four men, armed with a gun and knife, robbed the goldsmith’s store betwee 12 pm and 12.30 pm. “They have taken away 2-3 kg of gold ornaments and we have formed five teams to nab the culprits. It is suspected that the robbers had worked at the goldsmith store earlier and we are investigating from all angles. A case has been registered at the Brahmapur police station”, he said.

The SP said the goldsmith hailed from Kolkata and had been living in Kalaburagi for the last 15 years. “He would prepare gold ornaments for other jewellers and sometimes sell to some customers too. He said he would sell about 15-20 grams of gold every day”, the SP said.

Eyewitnesses said the four men entered the goldsmith’s store posing as customers. “They had bound the goldsmith’s hands and legs and gagged him with adhesive tape. When they pulled down the shutters hard, we got suspicious and when we checked inside, we found the jeweller tied up and rescued him”, said Jairam and Rajashekar.

Meanwhile, the Kalaburagi CEN police have arrested Ramu Akul Reddy, a native of Telangana, for duping investors by promising higher returns. He was running Venus Finance and Leasing in Kalaburagi and is said to have cheated about 800 people to the tune of Rs 50 crore.

Ramu Akul Reddy lure investors by promising to put their money in the share markets for higher returns. He would conduct Lakshmi puja at home with 400 speakers and even perform naivedya to Lord Surya with whiskey, locals said. Based on complaints from investors, the CEN police arrested Reddy.