A freshly minted IPS officer had the shock of his life when gifts worth Rs 1 lakh were stolen during his wedding reception at a five-star hotel in the heart of Bengaluru.
The suspect is a decorator working for a private event management firm. Police are looking for him after receiving a complaint from the IPS officer.
Dr Melvyn Varghese, 29, got into the Indian Police Service (IPS) after securing the 292nd rank in the UPSC exam in 2018 on his very first attempt. He took the exam as an NRI because he had done his schooling in Sharjah. His father, Shibu Varghese, headed a pharmaceutical company in Dubai. In 2016, Dr Melvyn completed his MBBS from the Mysuru Medical College and Research Institute. He is currently undergoing IPS training and awaiting cadre allocation. The family is from Kerala.
Dr Melvyn got married recently and hosted a wedding reception on January 14 at Shangri-La, a luxury hotel located on Palace Road.
Dr Melvyn received a number of gifts, including cash, during the reception and kept them in the bridegroom section at the hotel. While the family was busy with the ceremony, somebody sneaked into the bridegroom section between 10 pm and 12.10 am and stole a Fossil watch, a handbag and several envelopes containing cash.
The theft was discovered two days later when the family checked the gift hampers. CCTV footage of the hotel purportedly shows Sundar, 25, a decorator with the event management firm, walking away with the gift hampers, Dr Melvyn told DH. However, he refused to give more details because the suspect hadn’t been arrested yet.
Dr Melvyn filed a complaint with High Grounds police on January 24. Police have opened a case under IPC Section 380 (theft in a dwelling house) and are looking out for Sundar, who has reportedly absconded and stopped reporting for work at the event management firm.
A senior police officer said: “It’s unfortunate that an IPS officer, who is undergoing training and awaiting cadre allocation, became the victim of theft during his wedding function.”
Sources said Dr Melvyn had opted for the Andhra Pradesh cadre in the IPS. However, the officer told DH that his cadre allocation hadn’t been finalised.