Burglars go on a spree, strike at 12 shops, hotel in Basavanagudi

BENGALURU: Basavanagudi’s trader community was in for a shock on Monday morning after it came to light that burglars had targeted a dozen shops and a hotel in and around Gandhi Bazaar, emptying cash-collection boxes at most establishments.
Preliminary investigations, based on CCTV footage retrieved by police, pointed to the involvement of two youngsters. While one of the accused is well-dressed with his shirt tucked in, his accomplice is seen wearing partially faded jeans and sports shoes. The duo operated on DVG Road, East Anjaneya Temple Road and in NR Colony between 2.30am and 4.30am. In fact, all shops which were burgled are located within a 500-metre radius of the NR Colony bus stop.
“We are yet to ascertain if the burglaries were executed by the duo or it was the handiwork of a bigger gang. They failed to break into six shops,” a police officer told TOI. The burglars targeted shops where padlocks were used on the shutters and not those equipped with a centralised and internal locking system.
“We have registered four separate cases related to serial burglaries at Basavanagudi police station. We have some clues about the miscreants and will nab them soon,” said deputy commissioner of police (south) Rohini Katoch Sepat. Cops said the burglars had planned everything to the last detail and executed the crime unmindful of CCTV cameras.
“The duo waited till beat constables left these roads and struck when no one was around. They seemed to have monitored the movement of beat policemen for some time,” sources said while maintaining that the two accused don’t appear to be professionals. While police pegged the stolen cash at Rs 30,000, shop owners and their employees said the burglars could have made away with cash worth Rs 95,000, a gold bracelet, mobile phones, a power bank and speaker.
Box: They didn’t even leave behind coins
The burglars struck at a hotel, Puliyogare Point, on East Anjaneya Temple Road, when four employees were sleeping inside and fled with Rs 45,000 and two mobile phones from the cash counter around 4am. “We never heard any noise when they broke the padlocks and gained entry. We were shocked when our cashier Lokesh came to open the hotel around 6.30am and enquired about the burglary,” said Raghavendra, who was inside the hotel when the crime took place.
Manjunath, a resident, said the burglars made away with a gold bracelet from Choppin Beauty Salon.
Ravi Nandan, a cashier at Apollo Pharmacy, said the burglars took away Rs 5,200 from a shop at NR Colony bus stop. The duo burgled Rs 500 in coins, a speaker and power bank from Speed Electronic and Rs 17,200 and cigarettes (worth Rs 30,000 in total) from Janani Pan Bhandar.
Narayan, owner of Janani Pan Bhandar, said he had stored the day’s collection in the shop to deposit it in the bank the next morning. “My weekend earnings were in the cash box. I never expected someone to target my small shop,” he rued.
The duo stole a few electronic goods from Sharada Electricals and Rs 26,000 in cash from Children Choice, a shop on DVG Road.