Udupi: Shirva police bust inter-district theft case, 2 arrested, gold worth Rs 22.32 Lac recovered

Udupi: Shirva police bust inter-district theft case, 2 arrested, gold worth Rs 22.32 Lac recovered

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Aug 6, 2025: In a major breakthrough, Shirva police have recovered 248.76 grams of gold ornaments and solid gold worth Rs 22.32 lakh, arresting two individuals, including an accomplice involved in selling stolen jewellery.

The accused include K.E. Mohammed from Uppala, who allegedly received and attempted to sell stolen gold provided by notorious inter-district thief Itte Barpe Abubakkar. Abubakkar, previously arrested by Shirva police, had confessed to multiple thefts across districts.

The case relates to a burglary on June 27 at Pavithra Poojarthy’s residence near Babbaraya Daivasthana in Mattaru. Thieves broke open the window hooks and latch to gain entry and fled with around 137 grams of gold ornaments. Following the incident, a case was registered at Shirva police station.

On July 21, acting on leads, police arrested prime suspect Abubakkar at Moodbidri and recovered 66.76 grams of gold worth Rs 7.50 lakh along with the scooter used in the crime. During interrogation, he revealed that part of the stolen gold had been handed over to Mohammed for sale. This led to Mohammed’s arrest and the recovery of an additional 182 grams of gold linked to thefts under Shirva, Padubidri, and Karkala rural police jurisdictions. Both accused have been remanded to judicial custody.

The investigation, spearheaded by Udupi SP Hariram Shankar and guided by additional SP Sudhakar S. Naik and Karkala ASP Dr. Harsha Priyamvada, was executed by Kaup circle inspector Jayashree S. Mane, Shirva PSI Manjunath Marabath, crime PSI Lohith Kumar S., and their teams. Operations spanned five districts—Shivamogga, Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Gadag, and Mangaluru—to track down the culprits.

Despite the lack of CCTV surveillance in Mattaru, police relied on CDR data and examined footage from nearly 200 cameras around Shirva to trace the suspects. The successful operation highlights the importance of community cooperation and surveillance systems in crime prevention.

PSI Manjunath Marabath urged residents to install CCTV cameras to aid future investigations.