Bengaluru: A thief who gained access into a jewelery shop by drilling a hole in the room of a lodge directly above the shop was nabbed by the police within 12 hours of the robbery and the jewelery has been recovered.
The thief, Mohammed Hussain (32) has had a criminal record and was earlier involved in theft cases at Belagavi and Mangaluru as well.
The police, it is learnt, received a tip-off from the bus driver of a Mumbai bound bus that a person resembling Hussain was travelling in the bus, which made it possible for them to intercept Hussain at Kittur in Belagavi district.
According to the police, Hussain used to target shops that were located below a lodge and carried out the theft by drilling a hole in the floor of the room above it
On June 19, Hussain had taken a room at the Platinum Lodge, which is located on the first floor of the building and houses Kanchan Jewellers on the ground floor. He had entered the jewellery store through the hole that he had drilled in the floor over the period of his stay and looted 1.3 kg of gold and 14 kg of silver items where after he fled from the spot.
Based on the CCTV footage the police circulated his photo on WhatsApp groups and sought information from state-run crews of private buses and received a a tip-off from the driver of a Mumbai-bound bus, who informed us that a man resembling Hussain was seated in his vehicle but had his head shaved off.
Reportedly Hussain had shaved his head off to put the police off his trail. Interestingly while the loot has been recovered from him a difference in the complaint filed by the jeweler has cropped up. The jewellery store owner claimed that 3 kg of gold was stolen.
In case the shop owner id=s found to be lying action will be taken against him too, informed an officer.
