Bengaluru Crime: Cab Driver Arrested for Stealing ₹25 Lakh Gold After Overhearing Family's Travel Plans

A family's trip to Mumbai for Ramzan shopping turned into a nightmare. Their cab driver overheard their travel plans and robbed their house in Bengaluru's Bhuvaneshwarinagar. The driver broke in and stole gold jewellery worth ₹25 lakh. He has now been arrested by the Hebbal police.

Bengaluru: A casual conversation in a cab cost a Bengaluru family dearly. A cab driver, who overheard their travel plans, ended up robbing their house while they were away for Ramzan shopping.

Hebbal police have arrested 40-year-old Abdul Rehman for breaking into a locked house in Bhuvaneshwarinagar and stealing gold jewellery worth about ₹25 lakh. The police have recovered 180 grams of gold from him. Rehman had apparently pawned some of the stolen gold at shops in Shivajinagar and K.G. Halli. He sold the rest to an acquaintance in Vellore, Tamil Nadu.

How did the theft happen?

The head of the family, 67-year-old Syed Akram, runs a bangle shop on Bengaluru's Commercial Street. He lives in Bhuvaneshwarinagar with his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson. On February 11, the family locked their house and booked a cab through an aggregator app to go to Yeshwantpur railway station. They were heading to Mumbai for Ramzan shopping. Abdul Rehman was their driver for that trip.

While driving the family to the station, Rehman overheard Syed Akram and his son discussing their Mumbai trip. They spoke about their travel plans and mentioned they would be out of town for a few days. This gave Rehman the information that the family wouldn't be back for at least two or three days.

Taking advantage of this, the driver returned to Bhuvaneshwarinagar the same night around midnight. He broke the window grille of the house to get inside. He then broke the lock of a cupboard in the bedroom and fled with all the gold jewellery kept inside.

Shock for family on returning from Mumbai

When the family returned from Mumbai on February 16, they were shocked to find their house burgled. They immediately filed a case at the Hebbal police station. A team led by Inspector Bhaira took up the investigation. Using technical evidence and information they gathered, the police tracked down and arrested Rehman on February 22.

According to the police, Abdul Rehman has a criminal record and was previously involved in three other theft cases. He has been sent to judicial custody, and the police are continuing their investigation.