B’luru: Thief loses 20kgs in 1.5 months to hoodwink police, arrested

PTI, Jan 22, 2023, 11:05 AM IST

Bengaluru: A man wanted in the theft of a 45-gram gold Mangalsutra reportedly lost 20 kg in the span of just one-and-a-half months in a bid to hoodwink the police officials.

The arrested accused identified as Manjunath alias Gym Manja (28), a resident of Siddhartha Layout, Katriguppe was a gym trainer by profession and took to theft after being unsatisfied with the salary he earned.

On December 4, 2022, Manjunath stole a 45-gram gold mangalsutra from a woman identified as Rukmini after stopping her on the pretext of asking for an address. The victim lodged a complaint and on the basis of the CCTV image police launched a search for the accused.

Meanwhile, Manjunath started gym workouts to lose weight thinking that he could hoodwink the police officials. Also, he started staying in a rented house near the police station, to keep an eye on police movement.

Recently police got a tip-off about Manjunath and went to his house to arrest him. However, the police were initially confused if they had the right person as the accused had lost a lot of weight.

Acting on suspicion police took Manjunath for questioning to the station. When subjected to intense interrogation, Manjunath confessed to the crime. Police recovered the mangalsutra and Rs 2.20 lakhs from his possession.