In a comic role reversal, a thief returning from a break-in was robbed of his loot, consisting of cash and gold, by four youths near a cemetery. Refusing to leave empty-handed, he committed two more burglaries to fix his bad luck before police nabbed all five.
Initially, the story of a thief being robbed by four youths sounded far-fetched, but CCTV footage provided evidence of the confrontation, leading to the identification of one suspect. This further led to the apprehension of the four suspects – all in their twenties and residents of Mandur with no criminal record.
The story begins on Nov 22 when Ishay Raj, 30, a thief from Amrutahalli, broke into a locked house in Mandur, northeast Bengaluru, and escaped with 330 grams of gold and Rs. 25000. When he reached his scooter parked near a cemetery with the haul, four youths confronted him, demanding to know what he was doing there and searched him. The thief allegedly admitted to his theft. The youths took everything, then unexpectedly handed him Rs. 3,000 for his “expenses” and asked him to leave.
Ishay Raj was not going to go back home empty-handed. Believing it would bring misfortune/ bad luck, he again committed burglary in two houses nearby after riding for 1 km. He looted another 120g of gold and Rs 1.5 lakh in cash. The homeowners lodged a complaint on November 23.
The Avalahulli (North Bangalore) police finally nabbed Raj, tracing him to Erode in Tamil Nadu, where he was subsequently arrested.