Four inter-state robbers involved in jewellery shop heist, arrested

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: Four inter-state robbers involved in the jewellery shop robbery attempt at Kodigehalli were arrested by the city police.

It was learnt that the gang had pulled a similar heist at a jewellery shop in Mumbai a week ago which served as a vital clue leading to their arrest.

The accused were identified as Suraj, Kanha Pandit, Ashu Pandit and Mose alias Banti. There were reports circulated that one of the accused was shot at by the police during the arrest.

However when asked, the city police rebuffed the claims. The accused are being brought to Bengaluru for further investigation, the police added.

Around 11:15 am on March 14, four assailants had barged into Lakshmi Jewellers and Bankers in Devinagar of Kodigehalli here and held the owner Happuram and his relative Anandram at gunpoint, demanding they hand over the valuables in the shop.

As Appuram and Anandram attempted to resist robbery, the assailants opened four rounds of fire during which two bullets hit Happuram on his torso while Anandram was shot on his leg.

With the robbery foiled, the accused fled the spot on two bikes leaving Happuram and Anandram severely injured. The injured are recovering in the hospital, the police said.

The Bengaluru North East Division police began a probe and scanned CCTV cameras to identify the assailants. The police here had suspected that the accused were not from Karnataka.

Based on this suspicion, the city police alerted their counterparts in several states.

A special team gathered clues from the CCTV footage and various technical evidence, including the country-made pistol the accused dropped at the scene while fleeing and tracked them down to Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.

It was revealed that the gang was notorious and was involved in over 20 criminal cases. The gang used to target small jewelry shops that did not have security guards and large crowds around to avoid undue attention and rob them.

They are said to be involved in over 20 robberies in Maharashtra and other parts of the country, the police said. A week before attempting to rob Happuram's jewellery shop in Bengaluru, the accused had committed a robbery in Maharashtra.

A senior police official said that the robbers had a modus operandi which included that they recce the shop for a few days after targeting it and later plan the day of robbery.

But the owner and his staff put up a tough fight which forced them to abandon the plan and flee, after shooting at the two and injuring them, the police added.

It is said that the accused hail from North states such as Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The Bengaluru Police, with assistance from their counterparts in Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh, were able to track and pin down the accused.