Thief who tricked women with sleight of hand nabbed

A 37-year-old man has been arrested in North Bengaluru on the charges of stealing gold jewellery from elderly women by diverting their attention and burgling homes.

Manjesh alias Hotte Manja, a resident of Hurulichikkanahalli near Hesaraghatta, is accused of stealing 171 grams of gold jewellery worth Rs 8 lakh.

Patrolmen from the Soladevanahalli police station picked up Manjesh from near the Hesarghatta bus stand after finding him moving suspiciously on December 29, 2020. He didn’t give a satisfactory answer to their questions about what he was doing there. Police frisked him and found him carrying some jewellery. They took him to the police station where he was questioned in detail.

Police eventually discovered that Manjesh had stolen the jewellery and was trying to dispose it of in Hesaraghatta.

The modus operandi

Police have also found that Manjesh lured elderly women by promising them senior citizens’ pension. He would ask them to remove their gold jewellery, saying he needed to take the pictures to apply for the pension. He would later steal the jewellery by pretending to safely pack it but would return only the empty packet. He would escape before the women realised the trickery.

Police believe Manjesh was involved in at least nine cases of attention diversion and five cases of housebreaking. He was previously arrested by KP Agrahara police in October 2020 but was released on bail on November 5. Police say he burgled a home in Hesaraghatta 10 days later.