BENGALURU: Subramanyanagar police have cracked the case of robbery at Chemmanur Jewellers by arresting a gang of four habitual offenders, including two sons of an astrologer. The incident was reported on February 19. The arrested are Saamrat Shivamurthy alias Shivu, (30), his brother Shivakumar alias Shankar, (26), residents of Kothanur, and two of their associates Nivesh Kumar, (29), of Ramamurthynagar and Jagadish, (34), a native of Sangli in Maharashtra. With their arrest, the police were able to recover `1 crore worth of jewellery from their previous heists.
A senior police officer said, “Based on the clues from CCTV footage, Shivu, the mastermind of the robbery and his brother were nabbed from their rented house in Vinayakanagar in Devanahalli.
Preliminary investigation revealed that Shivu, a high school dropout, and his brother Shankar, BCom graduate, had decided to make quick money by committing robbery in jewellery shops in and around the city. The duo was unemployed and Nivesh Kumar, working as facility manager at a multinational company, joined the gang as he was a close friend of Shankar.
In 2011-12, the gang robbed Santosh Jewellers in Ramamurthy Nagar and Chemmanur Jewellers in Peenya and managed to escape with 8 kg of gold and other valuables. “After selling the booty, the brothers had bought two high-end cars and opened a real estate agency SR Business Solutions in Yelahanka. The gang had even purchased 11 acres of land in Sira in Tumakuru and spent more money lavishly to purchase branded goods,” the officer added.
“Shankar had decided to join the civil services but when he failed in the prelims in the first attempt, he dropped his further attempts. They lost money in the real estate business and the gang decided to strike jewellery showrooms,” the police officer said.The police recovered 43 kg of gold jewellery, two cars worth Rs 57 lakh, three bikes and other expensive gadgets worth Rs 1 crore.The gang watched over 50 Hollywood movies and video clips of robberies for inspiration. They had even learnt how to make petrol bombs and purchased bullet-proof jackets made in China.