Jewellery, cash worth Rs 15 lakh stolen during Mangaluru–Mumbai bus journey; complaint filed

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Dec 30, 2025: A woman passenger has approached the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Mira Bhayander Zone 1, alleging that jewellery and cash worth about Rs 15 lakh were stolen during her bus journey from Mangaluru to Mumbai.

According to the complaint filed by Shoba Castelino, the incident took place on December 20 while she was travelling with her two minor daughters in an Anand Travels bus (GA 08 V 8665) operating on the Padubidri–Mira Road route. She said the theft came to light around 7.20 am during the journey, after which she immediately informed the bus driver and asked for the CCTV footage to be checked.

She alleged that the bus staff later told her the CCTV camera installed in the bus was only a dummy. When she requested the driver to stop the vehicle, he reportedly refused, stating that the bus was near Belapur at the time. As she was travelling with her minor children and was distressed, she continued the journey till the final destination.

The complainant further stated that her attempts to register a first information report (FIR) at Naya Nagar police station and subsequently at Kanakia police station on Mira Road were unsuccessful, with police citing jurisdictional constraints. She also alleged that the bus owner bypassed standard police procedure by sending the digital video recorder (DVR) to a private manufacturer and later claimed that the CCTV footage was “blank”, raising doubts about possible destruction of evidence.

She added that when she visited the DCP office on December 27, she was directed to another officer who allegedly declined to accept the complaint, again citing jurisdiction issues. She maintained that under the law, a zero FIR can be registered at any police station regardless of where the offence occurred.

The stolen items listed in the complaint include an 80-gram mangalsutra, three diamond rings, two gold rings, a six-gram gold chain, a diamond pendant, two pairs of earrings weighing 10 grams, and Rs 12,000 in cash. The total value of the stolen property has been estimated at approximately Rs 15 lakh.

The complainant has urged the police to register an FIR and conduct a thorough investigation, including forensic examination of the DVR and questioning of the bus staff and passengers, to recover the stolen items.