A lodge receipt found in an abandoned bag on the Palace Grounds premises has helped police catch a 14-member gang of sandalwood smugglers and recover 32 kilograms of the precious wood.

The suspects, all from Tamil Nadu, had reportedly chopped down sandalwood trees in Palace Grounds on the night of May 26 by assaulting security guards. In the melee, the gang members left behind a bag. When police checked it, they found the rent receipt of a lodge in KR Market. They questioned the lodge staff and tracked down the suspects. The gang members had been staying in Bengaluru for some time and were planning to smuggle more sandalwood, a police officer.

According to police, the kingpin is IIayaraj who visits Bengaluru every month to carry out sandalwood smuggling. Police identified two other suspects as Sehtu and Varadan but didn’t give the names of others.
Kidnapped boy rescued
The Kolar police arrested two men from Bengaluru and rescued a two-year-old boy who was kidnapped by them from Kolar. The victim Siddiq, son of Sanaulla, was kidnapped from Khakisha Mohalla in Gulpet in Kolar town on Friday by two bike-borne men while he was playing in front of his house. His parents and relatives made a frantic search and later filed a police complaint.

The police, who suspected that the abductors and the victim had come to Bengaluru, traced the kidnappers to Goripalya in Bengaluru on Saturday night and arrested them. The police rescued the boy and handed him over to his parents.

The arrested have been identified as Syed Salman and Sadiq Pasha, residents of Goripalya. During interrogation, the duo admitted to kidnapping the boy, the police said.

Bike rider killed
A two-wheeler rider was killed on the spot when a cab hit his bike from behind in Peenya on Sunday. The victim Mani (30), a resident of Arishinakunte, was working at RMC yard.

According to the police, the accident occurred on the Tumakuru Road flyover when the victim was returning home on his bike. As the cab hit the bike, Mani fell down and sustained severe head injuries. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. Hemanth (25), the cab driver from Pavagad, fled the spot, but later he surrendered before the police.