KASARGOD: On Monday, Kasaragod woke up to a daring heist in a jewellery store at Hosangadi in Manjeshwar. Seven robbers wearing masks, bandana and gloves bashed up the watchman, tied and gagged him, and scooted with 15kg of silver ornaments, Rs 4.5 lakh in cash, and expensive watches. Footage from the CCTV cameras inside 'Rajadhani' revealed that the robbers were inside the store from 1.30 am to 3 am.
The worth of the loot -- Rs 16 lakh -- paled in comparison to the daredevilry of the robbers. That was because their gas cutter could not break open a Godrej Defender locker in Rajadhani. The safe had 5kg of gold jewellery worth Rs 2.23 crore, said Kasaragod DySP P Balakrishnan Nair.
But if the robbers thought not being able to strike gold was a mischance, they were wrong. Their luck had run out as soon as they started the heist ride from Surathkal in Mangaluru.
Ullal police put the brake
Around 3.30 am on Monday when the robbers' Innova entered back into Karnataka, it was waylaid by Ullal police sub-inspector Pradeep and three other officers.
The car pulled over without any fuss, said an officer of Ullal police station. "They thought we were not aware of their Manjeshwar job," he said.
But when the police started questioning them, the robbers assaulted the officers and escaped with a bag on foot. "There were six or seven of them. They not only outnumbered us but were also better built," said one of the officers on duty.
All four officers were injured in the attack. But when they checked the car, they found Rs 2 lakh in cash and 7kg of silver ornaments in it. Ullal police have impounded the car and the pieces of evidence.
Ullal police have registered an FIR under the Indian Penal Code's Section 353 (assaulting police), Section 457 (house-breaking by night), and Section 380 (theft from building).
Ullal police were tipped off by a businessman who runs the rent-a-car at Surathkal in Mangaluru.
"We have identified two of the robbers. One Mohammed Gouse and one Imran. Gouse is from Bantwal (in Dakshina Kannada). He is accused of several robberies," said an officer in Ullal police station.
Kasaragod police have formed a team to track down Gouse and the rest of the members of the gang. "We have identified all the members," said an officer in Kasaragod police.
Robbers' digital footprints
Around 9 pm on Sunday, Imran and Gouse approached the owner of the car rental in Surathakal for a car to go to a Sufi shrine at Baba Budan Giri in Chikmagalur district.
When the owner offered a hatchback, they insisted on an MUV saying seven of their family were going on the trip.
The owner gave them his personal Innova. And that wrecked their meticulous plan.
The Innova was fitted with a telematics box with a SIM card. It has a real-time tracking device and sends all the vital parameters of the car -- such as RPM and engine oil level and temperature -- to his mobile phone. If needed, he can silently turn on the microphone embedded in the box. None of these was known to Gouse and Imran.
Around 10.30 pm when the car rental owner was about to hit the bed, he got a notification on his mobile phone that the Innova was speeding at 100 kmph on Kankanady road towards Kasaragod.
Baba Budan Giri is 200km east of Surathkal, and Manjeshwar is 40km down south on the same NH66.
The owner found that odd. Imran and Gouse had said they were leaving for Baba Budan Giri at 5 am.
"They should be sleeping early rather than speeding on the road," he said.
The owner checked the app linked to the telematics box and found that the car was parked in front of a restaurant at Kankanady. That made him more suspicious.
The rental car owner's intuition had made him cross-check with his neighbour and fisherman 'Khaali' Musthafa before giving the car to Gouse.
When Khaali vouched for Imran, a native of Surathkal, the businessman gave his car to them. But the Innova was idling at Kankanady for a long time, and he decided to turn on the microphone inside the car. What he heard confirmed his suspicion. There were several persons inside the car speaking Kannada and Tulu. There was no mention of breaking into a jewellery shop. "But they talked about a deal, covering the brake lights, and changing the number plate of the car," he said.
He immediately alerted officers in the Crime Branch of Dakshina Kannada police.
But he lost signal from the car because of the heavy rain Sunday night.
By the time he got back the signal, the car was in Manjeshwar. But the game was over for Gouse and his team.