Bengaluru: A woman posing as a prospective customer stole gold ornaments weighing 145 grams and worth Rs 12 lakh from a jewellery store at Basavanagudi earlier this week.The woman, wearing a burqa, mask and hand gloves, allegedly stole the four bangles from BlueStone Jewellery and Lifestyle between 1.20pm and 2pm on Sept 2, police said. The woman, who spoke in Hindi and Kannada, asked salesman Nagaraj Devandrappa to show her a few designs of gold bangles. He took out some samples from the showcase, put them on a tray and displayed them in front of her. The woman picked up the ornaments, checked the designs and said she did not like any. She then asked the salesman to show her some gold necklaces. Nagaraj put the bangles back on the counter and went to another counter to get necklaces. However, before he could return, the woman surreptitiously picked up four bangles and put them into her bag, police said. Nagaraj, who didn’t realise that the woman had stolen the bangles, showed her some necklaces. However, she left the shop in a few minutes, saying she didn’t like any of the designs. The entire interaction was recorded on the shop’s CCTV cameras. “We collected footage of the store. The woman’s face is not clear as she was in a burqa and a mask. A case has been registered under BNS Section 303 (theft) and efforts are being made to nab her,” a senior police officer said. Prison friends on bail arrested for robbing goldTwo members of an armed gang of four, who held a jeweller and his staff at gunpoint and robbed them of 80 grams of gold at Madanayakanahalli in Bengaluru Rural this July, have been arrested.The two robbers who met in prison — Mohammed Iftikar and Naushad — decided to loot a jewellery shop after they were released on bail. They purchased a toy gun online, a used car from a dealer in Dakshina Kannada and fixed a fake licence plate.The gang barged into Sri Ram Jewels around 9pm on July 25. Owner Kannaiah Lal and his staff were in the shop when the gang robbed them of gold ornaments.Police said Iftikar and Naushad, both in their late 20s, are from Bihar and Dakshina Kannada, respectively. Iftikar, facing around 15 cases including murder, shared the jail barrack with Naushad and two associates, arrested on robbery charges.
