Engineering grads go on high-stakes robbery spree in Bengaluru, loot worth lakhs

The Kumaraswamy Layout police have arrested two engineering graduates and an engineering student for robbing people known to them of cash, gold, and other valuables.

Police arrested Swaroop and Atmananda Jambagi, both aged 27, and 21-year-old Shaalim Raja, while another gang member Aadimurthy is still at large.

Swaroop and Jambagi have done their engineering. Jambagi is also a practising lawyer. Raja and Aadimurthy are engineering students. All of them are from a reputed private engineering college in Kumaraswamy Layout.

A team headed by police inspector Kotreshi B M arrested the trio and recovered 222 grams of gold jewellery worth Rs 13 lakh, silver articles worth Rs 1.5 lakh, and Rs 2.2 lakh in cash.

Around 9.10 am on April 10, the suspects visited the house of Muralidhar N S, a resident of Teachers Colony in Kumaraswamy Layout, posing as officials on passport-verification duty. They gagged and tied Muralidhar and stole around 100 grams of gold jewellery, 400 grams of silver articles, Rs 1 lakh in cash, and a mobile phone from an almirah.

Anil Shetty, a 30-year-old resident of 24th Main in Kumaraswamy Layout, became their second victim. On April 26, the suspects called Shetty, who owns a PG accommodation, to discuss the sale of a loss-making PG they claimed to own.

Shetty went to the under-construction building at 12 pm where the gang wanted to meet him. They overpowered Shetty, threatened to inject him with a paralysing drug and stole a gold chain, two finger rings, a bracelet, a phone and Rs 20,000 cash.

Two of them took Shetty’s house keys and left him in the custody of the third. They went to his house and stole a mangalya chain, two finger rings, gold chains, a pair of diamond earrings, four bangles, and other valuables worth Rs 12 lakh, and Rs 5 lakh in cash.

In all, they stole items worth Rs 22.4 lakh.

The mastermind

Swaroop, owner of two PGs, has been identified as the mastermind of the burglaries. He knew Shetty since they were in the same line of business. Muralidhar, a civil engineer, was constructing a building for him. The other accused were living in the PGs. Some of the stolen jewellery is with Aadimurthy.