A man was arrested on Friday for stealing nearly two tonnes of cashew nuts worth ₹16 lakh from a wholesale dry fruits dealer’s godown in Vyalikawal . The accused, Prashanth Tanaji Patil, hails from Sangli in Maharashtra. He has been working as a retail supplier of dry fruits in Bengaluru for the last three years.
According to the police, he would source dry fruits from Rajesh Kamath, a wholesale dealer, and supply them to small retail outlets for a profit. However, after incurring a hefty loss, he sought a loan of ₹5 lakh from Rajesh on August 20. However, the wholesale dealer refused to bail him out.
It so happened that on the day Prashanth visited his shop, Rajesh had received a consignment of 3.06 tonnes of cashew nuts, of which he had sold 1.08 tonnes. According to the police, the transaction took place in front of Prashanth.
He went to the shop the next day and again asked for a loan, only to be turned down.
The next morning, when Rajesh opened the shop, nearly two tonnes of cashew nuts were missing. CCTV footage showed a man opening the shop around 11 p.m. the previous night and leaving with the cashew nuts in a tempo. The police later identified Prashanth as one of suspects and questioned him.
Investigations revealed that on his second visit to the shop, Prashanth got his hands on the key of the shop. He made a duplicate key and returned the original to the shop within two hours. He used the duplicate key to open the shop.