Woman arrested for masterminding robbery to retrieve ex-boyfriend’s phone

NT Correspondent Bengaluru: In a dramatic turn of events, police here arrested 29-year-old P Shruthi for her alleged role in an accident-cumrobbery staged at Bhoganahalli on September 20. The crime was allegedly orchestrated by Shruthi to reclaim her former boyfriend’s mobile phone, which allegedly contained private photos of her. The police apprehended Shruthi and charged her with dacoity. During interrogation, she admitted to planning the heist with a group of men to retrieve the phone.

Alongwith Shruthi, police arrested her associates Manoj Kumar, Suresh Kumar, Honnappa and Venkatesh, all residents of Kodathi in the city. The investigation began after her ex-boyfriend, Dumpa Vamshi Krishna Reddy, reported the incident. A breakthrough occurred when Manoj, a painter, confessed that Shruthi had paid him Rs 1.1 lakh to execute the theft. On the night of the robbery, Shruthi lured Reddy to a specific location on a scooter. There, she signaled to Manoj and his accomplices to steal their phones.

Initially, Reddy claimed that a Swift Dzire car had collided with their bike, but police found no evidence of an accident. Instead, the group had ambushed them faking a crash. Shruthi had reportedly expressed her fear that Reddy might misuse their intimate photos, prompting her to orchestrate the robbery, police sources said. Despite her efforts, she was unable to access the locked phone and subsequently discarded it in Singasandra Lake in frustration, the sources added.