Crime

 

In the space of a week, two thefts have occurred in Sector 1 while the victims were at home and sleeping. Both the thefts happened in the morning. Read on to know how you can avoid a similar incident as the victims were at fault here.

FIRST THEFT
On the morning of June 3, 2019, between 7.15am and 8am, there was a theft in a third floor house on 25th C Cross, 27th Main in Sector 1. The victim was Kalpit Pandey, a 26-year-old employed with a private firm. The theft occurred while he was asleep. The thieves had allegedly opened the front door through the window.

They made away with his office laptop, adaptor, backpack, mouse, headphone, Vivo mobile, Pan card, driving licence, voter ID, aadhaar card, three debit cards, 2 credit cards, 1 sudexo meal card, Rs 1000 cash, and his company ID card. The police complaint was filed on June 5 and the cops have registered a case of theft (IPC 380) and are investigating.

SECOND THEFT
On June 11, another theft occurred between 8.30am and 9am in Sector 1. This time around, it was on 21st Main in Brundavan building. Twenty-seven-year-old Ravikant was at the receiving end of this case. He stays with his friend Shantanu. As always, Shantanu wakes up earlier and leaves the door ajar while going to the office.

In this period while Ravikant is asleep, a thief enters his house and steals his laptop and wallet containing his driving licence, Pan card, 1 debit card and 2 credit cards. In addition, the thief steals Shantanu’s wallet containing Aadhaar card, Pan card, 1 debit card and 2 credit cards and his bike registration certificate. The cops have registered a case of theft and are probing the case.

The Swabhimaana Tree Park on 15th B Main, 19th Cross, Sector 3, is being handed over from the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The park that saw an investment of Rs 5 crore is still a work in progress. The water outlets coming on to the roads are improperly designed. They let water out on to the road instead of the drains, which could flood the homes in low-lying areas. The main entrance  of the park resembles a swimming pool when it rains heavily as there is no proper elevation and shoulder drain that can take the rainwater into the stormwater drain that runs along its boundary.

The lights are not properly installed across the park, particularly near the sand pit and play areas. The play area still needs much sand as the contractor had dumped red soil instead of sand earlier. Much more sand needs to be put to avoid the children from soiling their clothes and causing air pollution in the neighbourhood when the winds kick up the red soil.

The unscientific speakers are another issue with the neighbours complaining that the music played in the wee hours is making them wake up sooner than they should. What’s worse is that the music continues to be played from 6am to 10am. Even the police department cannot give permission to any public place to play music continuously every day for that long. It’s air pollution of the highest kind, particularly to those living on 15th B Main, as the speakers are closest to this road. After much protest by the residents, the high decibels were reduced, but on some days, it goes back to being loud. The residents are hoping that the BBMP removes the speakers altogether and ensures there is peace and serenity all around and there is no violation of the noise pollution norms.

The residents are also demanding that the 21st A Cross Road be connected to 15th B Main as that would offload much of the traffic being seen on 15th B Main alone. With two wheelers and cars parked all along 15th B Main, there is a traffic jam every evening, and more so on weekends.

The amphitheatre should not allow any organisers to use loudspeakers as that would again pollute the neighbourhood. The stadium seating of the amphitheatre is meant to ensure that the sound carries to everyone without the use of amplifiers. And even if a loudspeaker is required, it should be below 50 decibels and only sound boxes (not open-to-air loudspeakers) should be used, not those hand-held loudspeakers.

On May 24, a thief broke into a house in Sector 1 when nobody was home to steal Rs 2 lakh worth jewellery. Yesterday, he was caught while trying to break into another house in Bellandur. Incidentally, the accused named Pasha is behind 80 house break-ins, one of the house being that of Manjeet Kakoti whom we wrote about last month.

Unfortunately, the stolen items couldn’t be recovered from him yet. “The police say that jewellery is with his friend in Mangalore who is still absconding,” says Manjeet. “He showed the police my house and that’s how the Bellandur police informed me about his arrest. The artificial jewellery that he stole from my place is with the police, but all the gold valuables are missing. What the police has recovered from him is not even worth Rs 2000. Apparently, the thief’s friend took all the gold from him to sell in Mangalore.”

 

Last week, the 6th additional magistrate court ordered the HSR Layout police to file a complaint of fraud where a person allegedly forged and HSR Layout resident’s identity to steal Rs 32 lakh from the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KAIDB).

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the incident happened between July 6, 2011 and May 31, 2019 when the court finally ruled. The HSR cops filed the complaint of fraud on June 10, 2019 after the court order.

The story goes back to July 2011 when Ramaiah Krishnamurthy (58), a resident of Sector 2, HSR Layout, and the general power of attorney holder for M/S Nit.Nic.Inc proprietor Ramesh Babu, paid Rs 32 lakh to KAIDB through two Demand Drafts dated July 6, 2011 for Rs 5 lakh and on November 17, 2011 for Rs 27 lakh.

The money was to set up a aluminium copper conductor plant on a two-acre land in Harohalli Industrial Area. However, accused Anil Kumar allegedly faked Ramaiah’s signature and committed an identity theft to withdraw Rs 32 lakh from KIADB. After examining the complaint, the magistrate court asked the HSR police to file a case of cheating and take appropriate action against the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including impersonation, cheating and forgery.

 

Businessman NR Shridhar Reddy (42) met three people at Krishnasagar restaurant on 27th Main in Sector 1. They promised to get him a loan on his building from Kotak Mahindra Bank.

However, they asked for Rs 30 lakh as a security deposit. It was in this connection that he met Shilpa Shetty, Manohar Lal, and his father at Krishnasagar. A resident of Doddanekkundi, Shridhar was in need of the loan and readily gave away six cheques totalling Rs 30.88 lakh on November 3, 2018 at around 2pm, according to the police complaint.

Once the bank loan came through, the alleged scamsters deposited the cheques on November 17, 2018 and December 3, 2018 and withdrew the entire amount. The HSR Layout cops have registered a case of cheating (IPC 420) and a criminal act by a group (IPC 34) and are investigating.

Twenty-two-year-old engineer Thirumale Gowda, a resident of Hassan, had applied for a visa through a consultancy firm in Sector 1, HSR Layout. However, the visa never came but the firm refused to refund the money.

According to the police complaint filed on June 5, 2019, the alleged scam occurred between December 28, 2018 and June 5, 2019. Gowda has accused Kali Prasad Rath of fraud.

Rath working for KT Consultancy operating out of 27th Main in Sector 1, allegedly took Rs 1.65 lakh from Gowda to get him a visa to go abroad. When Rath failed to get Gowda the promised visa, he asked for a refund. However, the cheque given by Rath bounced. A case of fraud under the Indian Penal Code 420 is registered by the HSR Layout police.

 

In a rare case, a chain snatching incident was averted by an alert cop last week in HSR Layout.

On June 14, at around 7.50pm, HSR Layout police constable Ningappa Kembavi (26 years) heard screams coming from 1st D Main Road in Sector 6, IAS officers colony, HSR Layout.

At the corner of the road, two vehicle-born thieves were trying to snatch the chain from one pedestrian. When the victim screamed, the constable rushed to the spot. Looking at the cop, the culprits drove away.

The cop gave a chase but the miscreants escaped in the darkness. When the constable rushed back to the victim, he realised that the chain was still hanging around the neck and the victim identified himself as Tirumalanath, a resident of Jayanagar. A case of attempted theft and punishment for the robbery attempt is registered at the HSR Layout police station.

 

The HSR Layout cops made a breakthrough in three cases of mobile phone and jewellery theft cases to not only catch three thieves but also recovered a two wheeler, a mobile phone and jewellery worth Rs 4.5 lakh.

Phone thieves
Mobile phone thefts have become common in HSR Layout. Either thieves enter homes and scoot with phones and laptops or snatch mobiles from passersby on roads. Thankfully, the HSR Layout cops have caught two mobile thieves who allegedly stole people’s phones.

One Oppo RealMe phone and a Honda Activa was also recovered during their arrest. The accused are Pawan Rao Pawar (21 years), a resident of Mysore and Praveen (19), a resident of Venkatapura, Koramangala.

The thieves were caught under the supervision of Somegowda GA and HSR inspector SR Raghavendra. The other cops included sub inspector Eranna, head constable Mallappa, and constable Lakshman Pawar.

Jewel thief of Mangammanapalya
In another incident, a salesman working at a jewellery store on 24th Main in Sector 1, was allegedly caught with Rs 4.5 lakh worth stolen jewellery.
The cops allege that salesman Syed Mohsin working with CaratLane stole gold and diamond jewellery on May 29, 2019 when no one was at the showroom and fled the scene.

Once the cops received the complaint, they launched a manhunt under the guidance of senior cops Isha Pant and Somegowda GA to eventually nab the alleged thief. According to the cops, Mohsin is aged 28 years and a resident of Mangammapalya. About Rs 4.5 lakh worth gold and diamond jewellery was also seized from him. The other cops who assisted in this operation included head constable Sardar Pasha and constable Tirumalegowda.

 

On June 2, at around 11.30pm, 23-year-old Mallesh, the security guard at Siddhartha Convention Hall in Sector 2, HSR Layout, was allegedly assaulted by one Naveen who claimed to be a former manager at the wedding hall.

 

At 11pm, Naveen apparently asked the security guard to let him enter the premises as he was a former employee, but the guard stood his ground by saying that his higher-ups should say so first. Naveen broke the lock and entered the premises despite the warning by pushing aside the guard in addition to mouthing expletives and giving him a death threat.

 

The cops have charged Naveen on four counts for causing mischief, criminal intimidation, trespassing, and intentional insult.

 

It pays to install CCTVs in homes and always having someone at home to guard it if you go by the recent spate of robberies in HSR Layout. Between May 29 and June 3, there were police reports of two vehicle thefts and four robberies. That’s six incidents in six days. From robbing an Ayurvedic centre to three domestic homes, it is a spate of robberies. Could it be one gang operating in the area? Nothing conclusive on that yet.

FIRST INCIDENT

The first incident of robbery occurred between 3am on May 28 and 11.30pm on May 29 on 24th Main, 13th Cross, Sector 1. Forty-six-year-old businessman Pankaj Goel left for Delhi with his family at 3am on May 28. When he returned at 11.30am on May 29, he saw that somebody had broken the window grill and entered his house to steal Rs 4.5 lakh in cash.

SECOND INCIDENT

This occurred in the house of Prashanth (37) staying on the third floor of a house in Sector 2, 23rd Main, 25th A Cross. On May 29, he and his wife left home at 9.45am to go to their office. When the wife returned at 5.30pm, somebody had broken the lock on the front door and stolen six costly watches, including Esprit, Fossil, Titan, Giordino, a Canon camera and his car’s spare key.

THIRD INCIDENT

Between May 30 at 9.30pm and May 31 at 6.30am, someone broke into Healing Earth multispeciality Ayurveda centre on Outer Ring Road in Sector 5. They stole a Sony TV and Rs 1.5 lakh cash. Someone had broken into the centre through the rear window and took away Rs 1.5 lakh from the chairman’s cabin and a TV in the waiting room.

FOURTH INCIDENT

On June 3, items worth Rs 30,000 were stolen from the courtyard of Geeta Dhir staying on 4th Main in Sector 6. Some of the things stolen included a wall fan, gymnasium set, home theatre, water motor, mobile phone, copper wires and metal utensils, among others. According to her, the theft occurred between 7am and 8.30am.

FIRST INCIDENT OF TWO-WHEELER THEFT
On May 29, at around 10pm, businessman Pragma Reddy (25) parked his Honda Dio (KA51EH1515) worth Rs 45,000 in front of his house in 14th Cross, 3rd Main, Sector 6. When he woke up on May 30 at around 5am, the bike was nowhere to be seen.

SECOND INCIDENT OF TWO-WHEELER THEFT
On May 3, at around 10pm, G Harshavardhan parked his Pulsar AS 150 (KA41EF1987) inside his house gate in 11th Cross, Sector 7. He left for Hyderabad to attend his wedding. When he returned on May 16 at around 10am, the bike was nowhere to be seen. Strangely, the police complaint was filed only on May 31, 2019.

 

For more bike thefts between May 17 and May 19, you could read this report.

 

For all the thefts and robberies reported above, the cops have collected the CCTV footage from the neighbouring houses and shops to nab the thieves.

 

 

 

On May 24, at around 12.15pm, a house was burgled in Sector 1, HSR Layout. Gold worth Rs 2 lakh was stolen. The thief was allegedly caught on CCTV, wearing a black tee and blue jeans while riding a blue bike.

 

According to the FIR lodged at the HSR Layout police station, resident Manjeet Kakoti (30) of 14th Cross, 21st A Main, found his first floor house burgled between 12.15pm and 12.45pm when nobody was at home. The items stolen included Rs 15,000 cash, three gold chains, two pairs of gold earrings, two gold finger rings, one gold locket and one gold coin.

 

When Manjeet checked the CCTV footage of his neighbours, he was able to capture the thief’s photograph. Only, the number plate was not visible.  He also enquired with a paan shop vendor nearby who was able to recognise the alleged thief from the photo. “He said that this person was coming to his shop for the last four days between 12pm and 1pm. He used to order a cigarette and tea, and then would give a missed call. One more person would arrive soon after, and both would have tea before they departed.”

 

In the CCTV footage from Pratham Motors on 17th Cross, Manjeet found the thief on the blue bike surveying the area between 11.45am and 12.15pm. Manjeet also checked the CCTV footage of the other neighbours and found that there was another person in a yellow tshirt riding pillion with him. “By the time, he came to my house, the pillion rider was missing,”  says Manjeet.

 

What puzzles Manjeet further is that when he and his family had gone out of town for four days, no theft had taken place. However, when his wife had just ordered for a cab at 12pm to pick up their three-year-old son from school, and came home by 12.30pm, the thieves had broken the lock on his main door and stolen the gold jewellery. Interestingly, all the silver and electronic items were left intact. Hie iphone, laptop and a costly DSLR professional camera were untouched. “The cops say that this is not the work of a gang, but someone who closely knows me,” says Manjeet. 

 

The HSR police have registered a case of theft (IPC 380) and house-breaking (IPC 454), and are investigating.