Karnataka: Man who stole Rs 9 lakh arrested; Rs 5.80 lakh more recovered

The Mangaluru North Police have been successful in arresting a 48-year-old man who had stolen Rs 9 lakh from a flower vendor and left a considerable stolen booty buried in the premises of an old building on Nellikar road in the city, which was later demolished and the money was allegedly taken away by the earth mover operator and others who were working at the spot.

Giving out details, Commissioner of Police N Shashi Kumar said that arrested Hameed Kunhimonu Jaffar alias Hameed (48), a resident of Padangady in Belthangady is a habitual offender involved in more than 35 theft cases in various parts of Karnataka.

Ummarabba (53), a wholesale flower vendor had filed a complaint to the police about thieves decamping Rs 9 lakh from his shop on November 16, 2022. Money was to be given to the farmers from Chitradurga and Tumakur. He had kept the money in his shop before leaving home at night. On November 17, when his son Riyaz opened the shop in the morning, he noticed a broken drawer where cash was placed. Along with cash, even the DVR of the CC Camera and box where the DVR was placed worth Rs 10,000 was also stolen. Based on a complaint, Mangaluru North Police had registered a case under various sections of the IPC.

A team of police personnel from the North Station was successful in arresting Hameed at Ambedkar Circle in Mangaluru. The police have recovered one DVR and an iron rod.

During the interrogation, he revealed that he had used a portion of the stolen money and later buried it in an old building, which was demolished after two days of hiding the cash. The earth mover operator and others who noticed the cash buried in the building had shared it among themselves. The police who swung into action was successful in tracing the earth mover operator and recovered Rs 5.80 lakh, said the Commissioner.

The arrested Hameed was following a modus operandi of taking away the DVR of the CC camera after committing the offense. There were 22 warrants issued against him by various courts and was absconding for the last several years.

There are five theft cases against him in Mangluru North station, two each in Puttur, Chikkamagaluru rural, Venoor, Belthangady stations, one each in Uppinangady, NR Pura, Chikkamagaluru rural, Venoor, Poonjalkatte, Belthangady, Sringeri, Bantwal Rural, Mudigere, Belur, Kadaba, Dharmasthala, Hariharapura, Bhagamandala stations.