A day after the robbery at a jewellery shop in Cottonpet came to light, the West division police have nabbed a 32-year-old habitual offender, hailing from Ahmedabad, in connection with the case. The accused stole 1.3 kg of gold and 14 kg of silver from a jewellery shop after drilling a hole from a room in a lodge located above it.
The police verified the call record details from the near-by tower and found that numerous calls had been made to Ahmedabad from a number. The police traced the number and found it active 45 km away from Hubballi. Armed with the information, a team of police led by inspector M.R. Harish nabbed the accused from a lodge. He was arrested along with the stolen valuables before he could board a bus to his home town, said M.N. Anucheth, DCP, West.
Investigations revealed that Mohammed Hussain, who was involved in similar cases in Mangaluru and Belagavi, had rented out room number 102 at the lodge in Cottonpet. He had produced fake documents to get the room.
The accused purchased heavy duty drilling machine, cutter and screw drivers and began to drill a hole from his room. After days of effort, the accused managed to enter the shop on Saturday night and steal the valuables and cash. The accused then checked out of the lodge on Sunday morning and boarded a bus to Hubballi.
After reaching Hubballi, the accused tonsured his head to conceal his identity and had booked a private bus to Ahmedabad, where he was planning to sell the valuables, the police said.
