JOIN US'Engineering grad' caught stealing gold
A youth, who claimed to be an engineering graduate and the son of a bank employee, was caught red-handed while attempting to steal gold chains posing as a customer at a jewellery shop in Malleswa- ram on Thursday night.
The suspect was identified as Karthik, 28, a resident of Indiranagar, and the incident took place at Lakshmi Gold Palace. According to the police, Karthik would pose as a customer trying to exchange old ornaments for new ones. He had duped a jeweller a month ago at Chickpet and had collected new chains for fake ones. He went to Lakshmi Gold Palace around 8 pm on Thursday with two fake chains and approached a saleswoman Geetha and requested her to display two gold chains of 20 gm.
She displayed the chains and he struck a conversation and demanded display of some more. He collected two gold chains when she turned down to collect a tray, kept one in his shirt pocket and another inside his shoe.
He failed to keep the fake chains in place of two chains that he had stolen as Geetha turned up, the police said.
She grew suspicious as the two chains were missing and she alerted her colleagues. When questioned, Karthik handed over two fake chains and the showroom staffers suspected him as the design of the fake ones was not matching with the original ones.
They checked his shirt pocket, trousers and shoes and recovered the two chains, the police said. The police recovered seals of some banks and some cutting tools from him. He told the police that he watched news reports of thefts on news channels and hatched a conspiracy to steal jewellery. He claimed that he was forced to commit thefts to meet academic expenses of a relative’s son. Karthik’s parents denied his claims and told the police that he took to crimes for lavish lifestyle.
Woman dies of burns
A homemaker died of burns that she sustained while cooking food at her Gajendra Nagar house in Baiyappanahalli police limits on Thursday. Sarala, 23, was married to Saravana, who also suffered burn injuries in the mishap, as he attempted to rescue her.
Police said Sarala married Saravana, a carpenter, in 2010 and the couple have a three-year-old son besides an eight-month-old baby girl. They hailed from Tamil Nadu and settled down in the City a few years ago, said the police.
The mishap took place when she was cooking food. She came in contact with fire after the stove fell down with kerosene all over the floor followed by thick flames. Saravana rushed to her rescue when she cried for help. He rushed her to a nearby hospital with the help of a few neighbours, where she died later. Saravana is recovering at Victoria Hospital, the police said.
Man robbed
Three unidentified youths robbed a man of his valuables in the Koramangala police station limits on Thursday night.
Police said the incident took place when Haritra Patil, a resident of Koramangala 4th Block, was walking towards his house at 10.45 pm. The suspects accosted him, threatened him at knifepoint, snatched five of his ATM cards, Rs 150 in cash and fled, police said.
DH News Service