'Gone in 5 minutes': Hunt afoot for Bengaluru techie's stolen shoe worth Rs 16,000 at temple

For a Bengaluru man, a short trip to the temple came at heavy cost after his Rs 16,000 pair of shoes disappeared from outside Shri Ganesha Temple in Banashankari III Stage.

However, troubles didn't seem to end there. The man reported that the police was initially reluctant to file a complaint regarding theft of footwear. But, the software engineer insisted since it was common occurrence at temples.

The complainant told the police that he had purchased the shoes for Rs 16, 000 and they were stolen all in a span of five minutes.

Wearing his Asces (the brand), the Bengaluru man parked his bike, removed his shoes and entered the temple at 7:20 pm.

At 7:25 pm when he exited the temple, his shoes had disappeared. He recited the incident to the temple management as well as the priest and was shocked to learn that the priest too had been a victim of the same crime.

The priest claimed the over the past 2 months, his shoes had been stolen twice. Others too shared similar stories and said this was a common occurrence.

"However, none of them had filed complaints," the software engineer said.

The CCTV installed at the temple shows the thief posing as a devotee entering the temple premises barefoot and running off with the shoes.

Thieves who have been caught in the past revealed that they sell the shoes as soon as possible for Rs 20-30 to buy alcohol.

However, the Bengaluru man insisted that police should make efforts to nab the culprit as he believed if a criminal isn't stopped from commiting crimes in the 'nascent stage,' they will go on to do bigger acts.

A case has been registered under the BNS section 303 (theft), CCTV footage have been collected and efforts are underway.