SHIVAMOGGA: The Chikkamagaluru police who are investigating the case of missing Sandeep S Krishna from Kerala have stumbled upon a gold business that could throw light on the mystery.
Sandeep, who rode on a bike from Kerala to Chikkamgaluru went missing on November 25 between Koppa, Hariharapura and Sringeri. CCTV footage the police have gone through as also some CDR documents have revealed that the case may have a link to gold business, said to be prevalent in Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu.
Sources told TNIE that the day Sandeep went missing, his neighbour in Kerala received a call from an unidentified person saying that he was willing to sell gold at a cheaper rate. The caller told the man that he came in possession of antique gold, which he could not sell in the open, hence was making random calls. When the police tried tracing the number, they found that four others from Kerala had received calls from the same number offering the same business.
“We have collected call details and are in the process of tracing the number. A team was sent behind the caller but the number was registered on a fake ID. We are not sure whether Sandeep had anything to do with buying gold. Interestingly, four persons who did business with him were called by the same caller,” said a senior police officer from Chikkamagaluru.
“Hours before Sandeep went missing, he had withdrawn all money from his bank account leaving just Rs100, from an ATM in Balehonnur. There is also no trace of Rs 7,000 that Sandeep was carrying. It could be in his pocket as well. Sandeep also made a call to his wife in Kerala after he got out of the ATM. Afterwards, he made another call to a friend, in which he mentioned that he may have found something interesting here, of which he would tell him once he returned. There have been cases where buyers were attacked or robbed in gold rackets. Hence, we are probing the case from all angles,” the officer added.
Kerala police to take over investigation
A team from Kerala is expected to arrive in Chikkamagaluru on Monday. The district police will hand over all investigation reports at the present status of the search operation. The police have marched 25 km downstream of Tunga river in search of clues. “All five persons who may have some connection with the case are in Kerala. Hence, we have decided to hand over the case to them.”