She was travelling in a KSRTC bus after withdrawing gold from bank locker

Mysore/Mysuru: In a daring theft aboard a KSRTC city bus yesterday, miscreants made away with gold ornaments weighing 262 grams, valued at about Rs. 18 lakh, from a woman passenger’s bag.

The victim, Hemalatha of Ramakrishnanagar, had earlier in the day collected her jewellery from a locker at Canara Bank branch near Ballal Circle. At around 2.30 pm, she boarded a city bus from Ballal Circle to Ramakrishnanagar.

During the journey, the thieves allegedly removed the ornaments, including bangles, necklaces, earrings, rings and pearl set jewellery, from her bag without her knowledge.

Midway through the journey, Hemalatha opened her bag to take out her mobile phone to make a call and noticed that the zip of the bag was open. However, it was only after she got down from the bus that she realised the jewellery was missing.

Hemalatha has lodged a complaint at Kuvempunagar Police Station and investigations are underway. Police told SOM this morning that the crime appears to be the handiwork of professional thieves who target KSRTC bus commuters and get down from the bus soon after stealing valuables from passengers’ bags.

“There are people who keep watch on customers at banks. Someone might have noticed Hemalatha taking out gold from her locker and passed on the information to the gang, who then followed her to the KSRTC bus and committed the theft,” the Police said, adding that a case has been registered and investigation is underway.