Gokulam Dacoity: Cops get vital clues

Mysuru: All the seven persons who had barged into the office of a businessman and looted Rs. 29,66,840 lakh cash in the upmarket Gokulam locality on June 23 were locals. The V.V. Puram Police have obtained vital clues about the dacoits and the arrest will be made in a day or two. Police sources said that an insider was also involved in the dacoity.

It may be recalled here that on June 23, at around 11.45 am, the gang entered the office of Naveen Kumar Gupta, proprietor of Kyathi Steel Company based in Thandya in Nanjangud Taluk. The office is located at Gokulam 3rd Stage (4th Main, 9th Cross near Vidyavardhaka Engineering College). The company has its head office at Yadavagiri and the Gokulam office was opened to make payments to transport operators and traders of steel scrap.

After gaining entry, the dacoits told office manager Vinod Kumar and scrap trader Shafi that they were CBI officers and demanded the keys of the shelves and cupboards. When the staff refused and instead asked them to show their ID cards, the miscreants thrashed the staff. They forcibly took the keys and made away with Rs. 29,66,840 lakh that was kept in a cupboard. They also took away the hard disk that had recorded CCTV visuals.

Investigating the case, the V.V. Puram Police found out that all the culprits involved in the robbery were locals. Police sources said that the gang had definite information about the cash that was kept in a particular cupboard. “We know who committed the crime and they will be arrested in a day or two,” said the sources.

The Police are sure about the involvement of an insider who passed on the information about the cash to the gang. Manager Vinod Kumar had brought Rs. 35 lakh cash from the Yadavagiri head office to his Gokulam office a day before the crime. Sources said only scrap traders, lorry owners, the office manager and other staff knew the presence of cash.