3 robbers held, valuables worth Rs 1.1 cr seized

By Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: In a major haul, Bengaluru North Division police arrested three interstate notorious thieves by recovering valuables worth more than Rs 1.10 crore.

The two accused were arrested by Sanjay Nagar police who were reportedly involved in 22 theft cases across the city. The accused were identified as Vinod Kumar (A1) and Rohit Mondal (A2).

Sanjay Nagar police told News Trail on Friday that the modus operandi of the accused mainly involved cutting window and balcony grills to enter locked houses. Previously registered theft cases gave a clue of their crime pattern and this led to the arrests, police said. Police inspector Balaraj from Sanjay Nagar police station said, “During March, 60 grams of gold valuables, Rs 15,000 in cash and expensive wrist watches had gone missing from a house here,” he said. “We found the grills of the balcony had been cut in order to enter the house. Similarly there were other cases involving the same modus operandi which led us to the accused,” he added.

Sources from the police said that the main accused, Vinod Kumar, hails from Hyderabad who had been jailed for his involvement in several house break in thefts and vehicle theft cases in the past. He was granted bail in 2015 following which he came to Bengaluru.

His family disowned him in 2016, and the accused moved to Kolkata and took up a job as a goods vehicle driver. During this period, he made friends with two people, including a woman, with whom he escaped to Bangladesh in 2019. “After staying for over a year, the trio returned to India and were involved in theft cases,” police said.

Vinod then started watching online videos and learnt tricks to rob houses and purchased tools required in the crime including a two-wheeler. “The accused stole another two-wheeler and used to roam around the city searching for locked houses. He would make a note of the location of such houses and plan to rob them during the night. If he found ahouse under CCTV surveillance, he would put on a mask to hide his identity,” police said.

The accused then took the help of his friend, Rohit Mondal, in his illegal activities promising him a share. He then sent his wife to Bangladesh along with the stolen jewellery. Police also said that during the interrogation, the accused had revealed his grand plan to settle abroad after making enough money through crime.

Based on the information procured from the accused during the interrogation, the police recovered valuables worth Rs 79.64 lakh including 792 grams of gold ornaments, 3 laptops, 10 mobile phones, 6 i-pads and 30 expensive wrist watches of different brands, 2 cameras and Rs 2 lakh in cash from the accused.

With the arrest of both the accused, the police claim to have solved 19 theft cases including seven in Sanjay Nagar, four in Banaswadi, two in Jnanabharathi, two in JC Nagar, two in Kodigehalli, two in Soladevanahalli police station, two HBT cases filed at Sanjay Nagar and RT Nagar and a vehicle theft case in Sanjay Nagar police station, police said.

Another robber held for thefts: In a separate case, Sanjay Nagar police arrested another person involved in house break-in theft cases in the city. According to sources, the accused (A3) was a Tamil Nadu resident and had rented a house near city’s Amrutahalli. Police said the accused had been arrested for theft cases at Sampigehalli and Yelahanka police station limits. “As the accused was a drug addict, the family had admitted him at a rehabilitation centre in the city. However after returning, he started stealing money and valuables from houses. While committing the theft, the accused was very alert and left behind hardly any clue,” Inspector Balaraj said. With his arrest, J.C. Nagar police have cracked 13 cases registered at different police stations across the city.

A probe was launched by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, J.C. Nagar Sub-division, Reena Suvarna, which included inspector Balaraj and his team in order to nab the three accused.