A 71-year-old jewellery shop owner in Belagavi, Karnataka, has been arrested after police alleged that he staged a burglary at his own store in an attempt to mislead authorities.
The incident began when the jeweller reported that ornaments worth millions of Indian rupees had been stolen from his shop during the early hours of July 17. According to his complaint, he had closed the store at around 8:00 p.m. the previous evening before receiving a phone call at approximately 4:30 a.m. informing him that the shop was open.
Upon arriving at the premises, the shop owner claimed that unknown individuals had broken into the store and stolen valuable jewellery. Police immediately launched an investigation into the alleged burglary.
CCTV Investigation Raised Questions
Investigators soon discovered several inconsistencies in the jeweller's account.
The shop owner initially told police that the store's CCTV cameras had been switched off because of power fluctuations, making it impossible to review footage from inside the premises. However, officers examined surveillance footage from nearby cameras, which captured a vehicle stopping outside the jewellery store around 2:00 a.m.
According to police, several individuals entered the shop and exited within approximately five minutes.
Investigators found the timeline suspicious, questioning how intruders could have forced entry and stolen jewellery worth millions in such a short period.
Hidden Footage Revealed the Truth
Further examination revealed that the shop's CCTV system had, in fact, continued recording despite the owner's claim that it had been turned off.
The footage allegedly showed the jeweller removing the gold and jewellery from the shop before locking it for the night.
Police later searched the suspect's residence, where they recovered the missing gold hidden inside his two-wheeler, contradicting the reported theft.
Police Pursuing Additional Leads
Belagavi Police Commissioner Borase Gulabrao confirmed that authorities are preparing a chargesheet against the jeweller for allegedly providing false information to law enforcement.
Police are also investigating whether the accused was involved in an illegal money-lending operation. Special investigation teams have been formed to identify and apprehend individuals suspected of assisting in the staged burglary.
The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities are expected to determine whether additional charges will be filed as more evidence is gathered.
Published by Banx Network. This article is part of the Banx decentralized media programme, powered by the BXE token on the XRP Ledger.
