Four held for stealing 548 gms of gold from house locker in Bengaluru, Rs 10 L cash recovered

BENGALURU: Four people have been arrested for stealing 548 grams of gold ornaments from a house and selling them. The Kothanur police have recovered a total of Rs 10 lakh in cash from them, police said on Tuesday.

The victim family resides in Byrathi village under Kothanur police station jurisdiction. They had lodged a complaint at Kothanur police station on June 9 stating that they had last seen the gold ornaments kept in a locker in their room in January this year.

In May, when they checked the locker, they found that the gold ornaments had been stolen and suspected two domestic workers who were working in the house at the time. Accordingly, a theft case was registered at Kothanur police station.

Police conducted enquiries in various directions and summoned the complainant’s niece to the station on June 27. On interrogation, she confessed to having committed the theft along with her friend. She further revealed that some of the stolen gold ornaments were handed over to two other friends, who melted them into gold bars, sold them and shared the money. She also provided information about the two friends who had received the gold ornaments.

On the same day, the friend involved in the crime was secured from his residence in Kothanur. The other two friends who had received the gold ornaments were apprehended near Gubbi Circle. On interrogation, all three confessed to their involvement in the crime.

On June 28, the four accused were produced before the court and were remanded to 10 days of police custody. Sustained interrogation of the four accused revealed that they had stolen gold ornaments had been melted and converted into gold bars, which were then sold in two jewellery shops in Chickpet. The remaining gold ornaments and cash were kept at the residences of the two accused in Kothanur.

Between June 29 and July 7, the police recovered a total of 548 grams of gold ornaments, gold bars and Rs 10 lakh in cash from the two jewellery shops in Chickpet and from the residences of the accused in Kothanur. The total value of the seized property is Rs 65 lakh.

On July 4, one woman accused and one male accused were produced before a court, which granted them bail. On July 7, the other two accused were produced before a court, which remanded them to judicial custody. Efforts are ongoing to trace the remaining gold ornaments and the investigation is in progress.

The investigation was successfully carried out under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner of Police, East Division, V J Sajeeth and under the leadership of Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sampigehalli Sub-Division, M Murugendraiah, along with Kothanur police station Inspector M L Chetan Kumar and other officers and staff involved in cracking the case. (ANI)