Udupi police arrest five in ₹95 lakh jewellery theft case

Udupi (Karnataka): In a significant breakthrough, Udupi Town police, with the support of Maharashtra police, arrested five persons accused of stealing gold jewellery worth nearly ₹95 lakh from a jewellery shop in Udupi. The operation led to the recovery of stolen assets valued at ₹87.4 lakh, including gold, silver, cash, and a car used in the crime.

Theft reported from Udupi shop

The complaint was lodged by Vaibhav Mohan Ghatge, who stated that on September 8 at around 10 pm, he had closed his shop and left. The following morning, he discovered that thieves had allegedly opened the lock using a duplicate key and stolen gold jewellery worth approximately ₹95.7 lakh. The jewellery had been stored in a refinery machine overnight.

Following the complaint, Udupi Town police registered a case under Sections 331(4), 331(3), and 305 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Coordinated police effort

Udupi Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar, briefing the media on Saturday, said that a special investigation team was formed under the leadership of Udupi Town Police Inspector Manjunath V Badiger. The team included PSIs Bharatesh Kankanawadi, Tejaswi TI (Kapu PS), and Vinaykumar K (Kollur PS), along with other personnel.

The Karnataka police team worked in close coordination with Maharashtra police officers from Akluj station — SR Madubavi, VB Ghatge, and VA Sate. Together, they tracked the accused to Nimgaon in Malshiras taluk of Solapur district, Maharashtra, where all five suspects were arrested.

Accused identified

The arrested men have been identified as:

• Shubham Tanaji Sathe (25)

All the accused are residents of Solapur, Maharashtra.

Assets recovered

The police successfully recovered valuables worth ₹87.4 lakh from the accused, which included:

• 748.8 grams of gold jewellery, valued at around ₹74.8 lakh

Conclusion

The Udupi police credited the swift arrests and recovery to effective inter-state coordination. SP Hariram Shankar said the case highlights the importance of cooperation between different state forces in tackling organised crime. The investigation is ongoing, and police are probing whether the accused are linked to other similar thefts.