BENGALURU 15 APRIL

City police are investigating if there is a wider gold snatching and pawning network after cases of 2 thefts where three men robbed unsuspecting pedestrians of gold chains totally worth Rs 3.7 lakh using rented bikes.

In the first case, Konanakunte police arrested two men who had been riding around the city on a rented motorcycle, targeting unsuspecting pedestrians and snatching gold chains. The accused, who resided near Manjunathnagar, were tracked down using surveillance footage after a woman working as a cook in an apartment complex was robbed of her 38-gram gold chain near BK Circle on her way to work in March.
The Police recovered the gold at a local finance institution after interrogation.

In a separate incident in Yelahanka, police arrested a man from Andhra Pradesh, employed at a petrol bunk was targeting women during the night. He was caught after snatching a 15-gram gold chain worth Rs 1.2 lakh from a woman returning to her PG accommodation in Kattigenahalli.
Upon interrogation, the suspect admitted to pledging the stolen chain at a pawn shop in Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh. Police say the investigation into possible accomplices and a larger network of pawn brokers accepting stolen gold is underway.