Bengaluru's Bold Heists: Women Thieves in Autorickshaws and a Conman in Saffron

Time of India

30-04-2025

house burglary cases
Bommanahalli police have solved threeinvolving two women who used an autorickshaw to search for empty homes. Police recovered 130 grams of gold jewellery and seized the vehicle, with a total value of Rs.11 lakh.The case surfaced on March 18, 2025, after a Garvebhavipalya resident reported a break-in involving Rs.3 lakh in cash and gold stolen. Police began an investigation and, using informer inputs and surveillance, arrested two women near Adugodi Signal on April 2. One of the accused, Nilofer, worked as an autorickshaw driver, while her accomplice, Shabreen Taj, assisted in the burglaries. During interrogation, they confessed and admitted to two more break-ins under the Mico Layout Police limits. They told police they had sold the stolen gold at jewellery shops. Police served notices to the shop owners, who returned the stolen ornaments on April 10. The duo was produced before the court and remanded to police custody on April 3 and then to judicial custody on April 11.In another case, Bommanahalli police arrested two women and recovered stolen jewellery worth Rs.3 lakh in a gold theft involving a house break-in. On February 6, a resident of Kaveri Nagar returned home after visiting a friend, only to discover that thieves had broken into his house and vanished with 30 grams of gold ornaments. Acting on leads, police arrested a suspect near Canara Bank, Begur, on February 28. He confessed to the crime and disclosed his accomplice's identity. He was remanded for 19 days in police custody.On March 19, police arrested the second accused near D-Mart on Kodichikkanahalli Main Road. He, too, confessed to the theft. The duo was later remanded to judicial custody on April 25.Returning from a trip to Mysore, a man found his house broken into and valuables missing. KR Puram police arrested a suspect and recovered gold and silver worth Rs.30 lakh.The investigation began on October 15, 2024, when a resident of Akshaya Nagar in Ramamurthy Nagar filed a complaint stating that his home had been broken into during a family trip to Mysore. The thieves had forced entry, looting 306 grams of gold jewellery and 1 kg of silver articles from the locked closet.After months of investigation and crucial leads from informants, the police nabbed the accused near Huskoor Lake, Electronics City, on April 10, 2025. During interrogation, the suspect confessed to the burglary and revealed the involvement of an accomplice.Further inquiries led the police to recover 123 grams of gold and 13 grams of silver from the accused's residence in Agrahara, Konappa, on April 16. Jewellery shop owners in TC Palya, Devasandra, Medahalli, and Seegehalli were served notices, leading to the seizure of another 183 grams of gold and 987 grams of silver, brought to the station on April 18 and 19.A man returned home to find his front door broken and gold ornaments missing after spending a night at a friend's house. The case, which unfolded on March 16, 2025, was cracked by KR Puram Police, leading to the arrest of a serial thief already in custody in KGF.According to the complainant, he found his front door wide open upon returning home. He filed a complaint at the KR Puram Police Station on March 17, initiating an investigation. Following multiple leads, the police tracked down a suspect linked to an earlier theft case in Anderson Town (KGF). With court approval, the accused was brought into police custody on April 7. The accused, identified as Ajju alias Prakash, along with other accomplices, was arrested based on CCTV evidence. During interrogation, he admitted to the crime and revealed he had sold the stolen gold at a jewellery shop in Chintamani, along with an accomplice who remains at large. The accused was produced in court on April 16 and returned to KGF Jail.A man posing as a Nagasadhu tricked a car driver in Vyalikaval on April 19 and fled with a 10-gram gold ring. The driver reported the theft to the High Ground police.Venkatakrishnaiah, a driver, was waiting by his vehicle near a private hotel when a saffron-clad man approached, claiming to be a Nagasadhu.The man asked for a five-minute rest and handed the driver five rudrakshis, asking him to return one. After the bead was returned, the man wrapped it in paper and revealed it as a flower, claiming it was a sign of divine blessing and that Lakshmi would favour the driver.The fraudster gained the driver's trust and asked for his gold ring. After applying ash to the driver's forehead, the sadhu told him to walk ahead without turning back to avoid bad luck. When the driver returned, the man had disappeared. The driver filed a complaint, and High Ground police are now searching for the conman.