BENGALURU: The Pulikeshinagar police have arrested two men who had allegedly committed theft at a female friend's house and had escaped with valuables worth over Rs. 1 crore. The accused had spilled chilli powder in the house to destroy evidence and had changed several auto-rickshaws so that the police could not trace him, police said.
The accused have been identified as Nazeem Shareef alias Shaheed (41), a resident of Lakkansandra, and Mohammed Shafiulla (42), a resident of New Gurappanapalya near Suddaguntepalya.
Police said that the incident had taken place in the house of 28-year-old woman Jyoti Jwala, an employee of a private company who was Nazeem Shareef’s friend for a few years. She lived with her brother in an apartment located on MM Road in Cox Town, where the theft took place in the afternoon of January 13. Jyoti had gone to the hospital where her brother was undergoing treatment and the incident came to light when she returned home in the night.
“The accused had spilled chilli powder all over the house thinking that the police can't get any clue. The CCTV footage at the apartment revealed that the accused, who had stolen valuables including the safe locker, had escaped in her two-wheeler,” the police said.
The police started the probe by analysing footage recorded in various surveillance cameras installed in the locality. “The process took 15-20 days and it was found that he had abandoned the complainant’s vehicle near Ulsoor Lake, from where he took an auto-rickshaw. He changed rickshaws at MG Road, Hosur Road, and Bannerghatta Main Road to avoid detection. He was last seen going till Lakkasandra 3rd Cross and there were no visuals after that point. Through informants, the accused was finally traced and arrested,” the police said.
The police picked up Shafiulla first and Shareef was arrested based on his information. “Shareef was into real estate, while Shafiulla was doing granite supply business. They both had suffered huge losses in the business and were in dire need of money. Shareef told Shafiualla that he had a rich friend and they can make money if they commit theft in her house,” the police added.
Shareef managed to get a duplicate key of the house when he dropped his friend at a beauty parlour a few days before the incident. “Later, her brother was hospitalised and the accused took advantage of the situation. To avoid suspicion, Shareef was with Jwala at the hospital while Shafiulla was committing theft at her house,” the police said.
Shafiulla had to given the booty to Shareef, who broke open the safe locker which had Indian and foreign currency. “The accused had shared the booty and we have recovered Rs. 37 lakh, foreign currency worth Rs. 12 lakh, gold jewels, expensive watches, a car, and other valuables, totally worth Rs. 1 crore,” the police added.