Puttur: Sachin, son of Monappa Gowda of Kaniyoor, who was employed with Abdul Kareem, an areca trader, had vanished with Rs 5.50 lakh, which amount was to be handed to another trader on June 6.
He went in his bike bearing reg no. KA21 R 2488 to Puttur and thereafter his whereabouts were not known.
In the meantime, Abdul Kareem got a call from Sachin saying that when he was carrying the cash towards Kaniyoor, he was waylaid by a gang that had arrived in a Bolero vehicle and robbed him of all of it.
Abdul Kareem informed Sachin’s family and also filed a complaint at the town police station. More suspense was added to the episode when the bike used by Sachin was found abandoned near Shri Mahalingeshwara temple. Within days of his disapperance, a letter written by Sachin was received in mail at Ashfaq Supari Centre owned by Abdul Kareem.
The letter stated that the gang had robbed him and also threatened to kill him. Being unable to show his face after losing such a big amount belonging to the employer, he would not return. Instead, he wrote, he would go far away and earn money so that he would be able to make good the loss. Besides writing that he would return only after settiling the amount, he sought blessings from his father and mother.
The police suspected that everything was not all right with the version. Inspector Mahesh Prasad deputed a team led by ASI Abdul Khader to go after the case.
Based on the mobile phone signals, they went to Mumbai where his location leads pointed at Grant Road area. But he was not found there. The signals showed his movement towards Bengaluru.
So they diverted their search to that city. Making enquiries at various lodges around Majestic area, he was tracked down and arrested.
His confessions revealed that on the same day, June 6, he had bought an expensive Samsung smartphone costing Rs 43,000 and a SIM card from a mobile shop and a gold chain worth Rs 50,000 from Kalyan Jewellers in Mangaluru.
He took a train to Goa, keeping Rs 50,000 in his pocket to take care of the expenses. But amount was stolen on the way, according to him. He proceeded to Mumbai and stayed in a lodge there. Somewhere on the way, he discarded his old mobile set.
On June 9, he travelled to Bengaluru and reached there on June 10. He checked into Sanman Lodge. The police from Puttur finally nabbed him on June 11.
The firm resolve of the police to catch him was facilitated by Sachin’s regular calls to his girlfriend. The police kept track of the incoming and outgoing calls on her mobile. But for this, maybe it could have taken the police much longer time to arrest him.
Kudos to The Police Department. Good job. Hope eventually the whole truth will emerge and the money returned to the the right person