WhatsApp helped the West Division police nab a 32-year-old habitual offender who was on the run after drilling a hole through the roof of a jewellery store in Cottonpet and stealing gold and silver articles.
Mohammed Hussain was nabbed from a private hotel, about 45 km from Dharwad, by the city police within 12 hours of the case being registered.
On July 9, the jewellery store owner reported a burglary. The burglar had entered the store by drilling a hole through the roof. Above the store was Room No. 102 of Platinum Lodge.
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The police got an image of the guest — Mohammed Hussain — in the room from CCTV footage. Hussain had checked into the lodge on June 19.
The police shared the image with drivers of private and public buses through WhatsApp. A driver from Hubballi contacted them saying he had seen the suspect, but was unsure as his head was tonsured.
Based on the inputs, a police team led by Kamakshipalya inspector M.R. Harish traced the suspect to a hotel 45 km from Dharwad. “We found 1.3 kg of gold and 14 kg of silver,” said M.N. Anucheth, DCP, West Division. However, the owner of the jewellery store claimed that 3 kg of gold had been stolen. “We will look into the discrepancy,” Mr. Anucheth added.
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According to the police, Hussain had done a recce of the store. When he checked in, he was given Room No. 101. But he asked the lodge staff for a bigger room and moved into Room No. 102. He began drilling a hole in the floor, working late at night. He never allowed the lodge staff to clean his room. On Saturday night, he drilled through the 1.5-foot-thick concrete and got access to the jewellery store beneath. He checked out of the lodge around 7 a.m. on Sunday.
Police sources said Hussain had left his home and settled down in Kalaburagi five years ago. He is named in a case in Mangaluru too.