BENGALURU: Two interstate professional thieves who wanted to settle abroad have been arrested by the North division police. Cash and other valuables worth Rs 79.64 lakhs have been recovered from the duo. The accused were earlier in Bangladesh before moving to the city and had allegedly committed thefts in Sanjaynagar area. The accused Vinod Kumar of Telangana and Rohit Mandal of West Bengal used to watch YouTube videos for training, purchase of tools required for theft.
Kumar who is from Hyderabad was arrested in 2015 in a similar cases. After being released from jail, Kumar shifted his base to Kolkata, where he worked as a driver and became friends with Mandal. “In 2019, Kumar along with his wife and Mandal went to Bangladesh and changed their names. Kumar and his wife managed to come to the city illegally. He then started committing thefts in the city. His modus operandi was to identify locked houses during the day and commit thefts at night. Later he again went to Bangladesh and has left his wife there,” said an officer.
Kumar made Mandal his assistant and the duo committed a series of burglaries in Sanjaynagar, JC Nagar, Banaswadi, and other areas. They wanted to commit maximum thefts possible and return to Bangladesh to lead a lavish life. Out of the stolen ornaments, Kumar had kept some for his wife. Around 1.26 kg of gold ornaments, electronic items and other valuables worth Rs 79.64 lakhs have been recovered from them.