BENGALURU: A thief rented a room in a lodge located right above a jewellery store on Cottonpet Main Road, drilled his way into the store and made off with gold and silver articles.
Though the incident is suspected to have occurred on Friday night, it came to light only on Sunday morning when the shop Kanchan Jewellers, owned by Himmat Prakash, was opened. On Saturday, the eve of Guru Poornima, the shop was closed. The store is located in the ground floor of a 2-storey building while the lodge is on the first floor.
The culprit rented a room (No. 102) using a fake voter ID card on June 19, giving his name as Hussain and claiming to be a native of Kalaburagi. No one knew what his business was or where he went. He would leave his room in the morning and return by evening. He never ordered any room service too.
The thief used electrical drilling tools to cut through the concrete floor of the room, just near the door. Though some lodgers complained of a humming noise during the nights, the management didn’t bother to investigate, according to the police. After accomplishing his task, the thief entered the shop through the hole, broke open the locker, stole gold and silver articles and vacated the room.
“The lodger left his room early Sunday morning, carrying a small bag with him and leaving behind the drilling tools. We have taken CCTV footage from the lodge,” police sources said.
Same modus operandi
On June 30, two men claiming to be from Uttar Pradesh robbed a jewellery shop on Hongasandra Main Road near Bommanahalli. They had taken a house, behind the store, for rent. The theives, who are yet to be identified, drilled a hole through the rear wall of the store adjoining their house.