Mysore/Mysuru: The Gundlupet Police have busted a major inter-State gold robbery racket with the arrest of three accused — including the mastermind — from Kerala and Kodagu, following the violent dacoity involving over 1.3-kg of gold worth nearly   Rs. 1.50 crore. The robbery took place on Nov. 20 along the Maddur forest stretch between Bandipur and Nagarahole.

Earlier, it was reported that the gold bar weighed 1.2-kg. But according to the fresh investigation, the bar weighed 1.3-kg (1,318 grams & 760 milligrams.

The case came to light after Vinu, an employee at Koduvalli Capital Gold Shop in Kerala, lodged a complaint. Vinu and his younger brother, Biju, handled gold orders placed by the Mandya-based jeweller, Rajesh.

While Vinu collected raw gold from Rajesh, Biju supervised the making of gold ornaments and personally delivered them back to Rajesh.

The dacoity incident

On Nov. 20, Vinu and car driver Sameer left Calicut in a Maruti Brezza (KL-58-V-1595) and reached Mandya the same evening. After collecting solid gold from Rajesh, they crossed the Maddur Forest Check-post on their return journey. As they proceeded through the forest stretch, three cars tailed them, intercepted their vehicle and blocked the road.

A group of 8 to 10 assailants then attacked Vinu and Sameer, smashing the car’s dashboard and gear console with a hammer before fleeing with 1,318 grams and 760 milligrams of gold concealed inside the vehicle. The gang later drove the victims to Mysuru Highway, abandoned them there and escaped.

Acting swiftly on the complaint, the Chamarajanagar District Police formed multiple special teams under the direction of Superintendent of Police Dr. B.T. Kavitha. Gundlupet Police thoroughly analysed CCTV footage from the Bandipur route and reconstructed the sequence of events that led to the dacoity.

Mastermind from Kerala

Following a meticulous investigation and a visit to Kerala, the Police arrested three suspects on Dec. 5. K. Nizamuddin, 31, of K. Kannoth House, Palottupalli Chavassery, Kannur, Kerala, G.H. Suhel Khan, 22, of Kolakeri, Napoklu, Kodagu and Viju John, 40, of Pudukadan House, Chalakudy, Thrissur, Kerala. According to the Police, Viju John is the mastermind, while the other two acted on his instructions.

The operation involved coordinated efforts of officers from Gundlupet, Terakanambi, Begur and Santhemarahalli Police Stations, supported by the CDR (Call Detail Record)                                       analysis team.

Police have recovered a mobile phone used during the crime and seized a car (KA-12-MC-3155) from the accused. All three have been remanded to Judicial Custody, while efforts continue to identify and arrest the remaining members of the gang.

Those who contributed to the successful arrests include Additional SP Shashidhar, Dy.SP N. Sneharaj, Inspectors N. Jayakumar, Sagar, Vanaraju and Mohith Sahadev; Sub-Inspectors B.R. Sahebgowda, K.M. Mahesh, Naveen Kumar and Tajuddin; Head Constables Puttaraju, Kishore, Shivaraju, Mahesh and Akthar Ali; Constables Mahesh, Raju, Jagadish and Mahadev. From the CDR unit, ASI Venkatesh and Head Constable Shankar Raj played key roles.