The inauguration trap: How a serial jewellery thief conned a Bengaluru woman out of her gold

The police said the accused took the woman towards Dr Rajkumar Road and later to K R Market in an autorickshaw. During the journey, he convinced her that wearing jewellery at the venue was inappropriate and asked her to remove her ornaments. She handed over her gold chain and finger ring to him inside the auto, after which the accused allegedly dropped her near K R Market and fled.

Acting on the complaint, the police launched an investigation and, based on informer leads, apprehended the accused near Kempegowda Bus Stand on March 5. During interrogation, he confessed to the crime.

The accused was produced before a court and taken into police custody for five days. Further questioning revealed that he had sold the stolen gold jewellery at different shops across Bengaluru.

Based on his disclosure, the police recovered 116 grams of gold jewellery from various jewellery shops between March 5 and March 8. Additionally, 409 grams of silver articles were seized from his house on Hosur Road.

The police said the value of the recovered property is estimated at Rs 15 lakh. Investigators linked the accused to five cases across the city, including those registered at Rajajinagar, Hebbal, Ramamurthynagar, City Market and C K Achukattu police stations.

The accused was again produced before the court on March 8 and remanded to judicial custody.

“The accused specifically targeted the wives of priests and, through this method, managed to gain the trust of the victim, whose husband is a priest,” a police officer said.