One suspect held in jewellery shop heist

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The city police detained one person suspected to be involved in the daylight armed robbery of a jewellery shop in Byadarahalli. According to the sources, the suspect was attempting to flee the city when the police intercepted him late on Thursday night.

"However three others are still absconding and efforts are on to nab them as well," said the police.

The cops identified the suspect as Hussain. Based on the infor mation he shared during the interrogation, the police have named the absconding accused as Shiva, Sikandar and Vikas.

On Thursday morning, four men entered Vinayaka Jewellery Shop on Pipeline Road, pretending to be a customer and looted the shop.

As the shop's owner, Manoj Lohar, 30, attempted to resist them, he was shot in his thigh by one of the assailants. The accused allegedly decamped with 1 kg of gold ornaments and other valuables from the store.

As the matter soon came to the notice of the state authorities, pressure mounted on the city police after which the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru West, S Girish, formed four special teams to arrest the gang.

CCTV cameras were verified to identify the accused and several details of suspects were also analysed. During their probe, one of the police teams received a tip-off from a credible source and nabbed Hussain.

Sources from the police said that the suspect was planning to board a flight to Hyderabad from Bengaluru Airport. It is alleged that Hussain, Shiva, Vikas and Sikandar were acquainted in a jail where they befriended each other.

The police also said that the accused were habitual offenders and were involved in petty thefts earlier. After they were released on bail, the four accused plotted a robbery in order to shift to another city.

However the police have so far not yet ascertained from where the accused persons got a gun. Currently, the police are on a probe to nab the other three accused.