B’luru: Denied financial help, man loots his aunt in guise of police raid

Bengaluru: Mahalaxmi layout police have cracked the case of robbery in the guise of a police raid at the house of a civil engineer on December 31 last year. Interestingly, it was an inside job as the mastermind, Rohan (24) happens to be the nephew of the victim, police said.

Police said they have nabbed 5 accused in the case, who were identified as Rohan (24), Puneeth (24), Balakrishna (23), Prithviraj (25 and Chetan Kumar (22) — all residents of Mahalakshmi Layout. Stolen gold jewelry weighing 318 grams valued at Rs 16 lakh, Rs 10.30 lakh in cash, two motorbikes, and a weapon have been confiscated from them, police added.

The accused (excluding Rohan) had broken into the house of civil engineer Samyanaik on December 31 at 1 pm. They had looted 19 lakhs in cash and 500-gram gold ornaments before kidnapping Samyanaik and his son Manohar, police said.

Investigation revealed that Rohan, who happens to be the son of Samyanaik’s wife Vinodabai’s elder brother, had sought financial help for starting a business last month. However, Samyanaik had denied the request. Enraged by this, Rohan approached his friend Puneeth who worked as a photographer.

Puneeth roped in the other accused and hatched a plan to loot the civil engineer at a party held in a room above his studio, police said.

On December 31, they barged into the house of Samyanaik posing as policemen from Tipatur Police who were searching for stolen goods by a thief (Prithviraj) hidden in the house. After looting the house they kidnapped Samyanaik and his son in his vehicle and abandoned them near Peenya.

Lotted money spent on luxury parties and booze:

The five accused visited tourist spots in neighboring states and spent a sizable portion of stolen money on parties and pricey booze. They spent Rs 8 lakh at luxury resorts in Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Ankola, Karwar, and Gokarna, police said.