Udupi: In a major breakthrough, the district police cracked the burglary case involving a Kerala-based jeweler that took place on March 17, at Hiriyadka, by arresting seven persons including main accused who is a jewelery shop owner from Udupi. The police has recovered 867 gms of gold worth Rs 24 lac and Rs 60,000 in cash.
It may be recalled that Dilip T.D, a jeweller and gold ornament trader from Trissur was forcefully made to get off a bus by miscreants near Hiriyadka and was robbed off his valuables on gun point. The gang had then abducted him and dropped him near Nandikuru. In the burglary plot, the gang had fled with 1500 gms of gold and Rs 2.57 lac in cash.
Addressing a news conference, Superintendent of Police K T Balakrishna said that the victim had been engaged in trading gold from Trissur to shops in Mangaluru, Moodabidri, Karkala, Perdoor and Udupi .
The SP said that following the incident five teams were formed and the case brought the police to one 25-year-old Harikrishna Bhat, son of Vittal Bhat, resident of Ugranibettu, Harikandige in Udupi. Bhat also runs a jewelry shop and was having business deals with Dilip.
Bhat was aware of the money or the cache of gold that will be in Dilip’s possession during his visit to the region and also understanding that he cannot execute his plot alone, he managed to get some help from Mohd. Irfan (30) son of H. Mohd Saheb, a resident of Rumeja Manjil, Santhosh Nagar, Hemmadi Grama & Post, Kundapura Taluk. Javed (25) son of Basha Saheb, a resident of 4-62, Hosathona, Kola, Malpe, Kodavoor Grama, Udupi, Ashraf (34) son of Abbas Byari, a resident of Badriya Manjil, Vinay Nagar, Near Belapu Masjid, Belapu, Udupi. Ilahid (24) son of Iqbal, a resident of Santhosh Nagar, Hemmadi, Kundapura. Ravichandra N. (41), son of Nagaraj, a resident of Ayyappa compound, Nandanavana, Kergal Post, Kundapura and Sumath Kumar (24) son of Ramachandra, a resident of K. s. Nilaya, Kirimanjeshwara Post, Kundapura.
Working on details that Bhat had at hand about Dilip, such as how Dilip travels and where he keeps the gold, the gang worked out a plan and executed the same on March 17.
