BENGALURU: A 52-year-old realtor from Hubballi approached Upparpet police after four mag wheels from his compact SUV parked outside a hotel on 2nd Main Road in Gandhinagar, were stolen by miscreants in the early hours of Sunday.
V Govindappa, the complainant, had come to the city with his friend from Hubballi on Saturday morning. He had taken the compact SUV from his family in Bengaluru to move around. He had booked a room in the hotel in Gandhinagar. After parking the SUV on the road, Govindappa and his friend retired to their room. When they woke up on Sunday morning, they learnt about the theft.
Interestingly, the entire incident was recorded by a 15-year-old boy who was staying as a guest with his family in the same hotel. Assuming that the accused were changing the tyres, the boy did not alert anybody.
Only after police reached the spot did the boy’s brother, who was aware of the video, handed it to police for investigation.
“The gang had come in a Toyota Innova. As per CCTV footage from the hotel, three persons are seen removing the mag wheels, and keeping stones in their place. The cost of the stolen wheels is around Rs 96,000. We had to purchase four new tyres to move the vehicle.
The boy who recorded the theft on his mobile phone assumed that the gang was changing the tyres. The registration number plate of the Innova is also seen in the hotel’s CCTV footage,” Govindappa said.
A case of theft was registered by police.