High-profile heist: Police recover 18.3kg gold, Rs 3.8 lakh cash

Mangaluru: In a major breakthrough, Mangaluru City police recovered 18.3kg of gold and Rs 3.8 lakh in cash, bringing significant relief to 1,600 customers of the Kotekar Vyavasaya Seva Sahakari Sangha (N), KC Road, Talapady Branch of Ullal police station limits. The recovery followed a daring armed robbery on Jan 17, during which masked men looted gold and cash, during CM's visit to the city.
City police commissioner Anupam Agrawal highlighted that swift action and meticulous investigation led to the recovery within days. The police teams travelled over 2,700km across Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, and Mangaluru in three days. He told reporters on Monday, "The gold recovery was prioritised due to its critical impact on depositors and the challenging nature of such cases, where recovery is often elusive. The incident is reported to be the second-largest bank robbery in Karnataka."
It may be recalled that on Jan 20, the police arrested three suspects—Murugandi Thevar, 36, from Tirunelveli, Yosuva Rajendran, 35, from Dombivili West, Mumbai, and Kannan Mani, 36, from Chembur, Mumbai. They recovered 2kg of gold, the car used in the crime, two pistols with three live rounds, machetes, and some stolen cash. Further investigation led to the arrest of M Shanmugasundaram, 65, father of the prime accused Murugandi, for harbouring the criminals. This led to the recovery of an additional 16.2kg of gold.
Initially, the investigation faced hurdles as the only CCTV camera was non-functional, leaving the police without immediate leads. However, identifying the original number plate of the getaway car proved pivotal. Police teams pursued the suspects across multiple locations in Tamil Nadu and Mumbai, keeping close tabs on their movements. Despite attempts by the accused to mislead investigators, persistent efforts resulted in the substantial recovery of stolen items, the commissioner said.
About four suspects remain at large, and efforts are underway to arrest them at the earliest. To prevent such incidents, city police will convene a meeting with cooperative societies and banks to enforce stricter security measures, including round-the-clock security guards, functional CCTV cameras, and alarm systems. Non-compliance will prompt police to escalate the matter to the relevant authorities, Agrawal warned.
DCPs Sidharth Goyal and K Ravi Shankar, Mangaluru South subdivision ACP Dhanya N Nayak, and ACP CCB Manoj Kumar, inspectors who led various teams and staff were present.