Bengaluru Heist: Robbers Posing as Cops Flee With Rs 20 Lakh Cash, Gold; Family Held at Knifepoint

Two men dressed in khaki uniforms stormed the residence of a civil contractor-cum-realtor in north-west Bengaluru and decamped with Rs 20 lakh in cash and nearly 500 grams of gold on Monday afternoon. The daring daylight heist unfolded at the Byadarahalli home of Hombalegowda and his wife, Mangalamma, who live with their son and daughter-in-law at BEL Layout. Their two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter was also inside the house.

The armed intruders, inside for 30 minutes, did not physically harm any of the family members, police said.

“When Hombalegowda opened the door, the man introduced himself as a police sub-inspector from Yelahanka station. Carrying a diary in his hand, he entered the house. Before Hombalegowda could react, another man, again in khaki uniform, entered. Suddenly, they both pulled knives and threatened Hombalegowda,” an investigating officer said.

As Mangalamma stepped into the hall, she too was held at knifepoint. The robbers wrapped the couple’s mouths with cellophane tape and bound their hands with cloth, rendering them helpless. Shockingly, the intruders spared the toddler, who remained in another room during the horrifying episode.

“They ransacked the cupboards in the bedrooms and took the cash and the gold. Before leaving, they grabbed the mobile phones of the couple and the CCTV DVR,” an investigating officer said.

The miscreants reportedly declined to take Mangalamma’s mangalsutra even after she offered it. “But both the miscreants refused to take it,” police said.

Authorities are now scanning nearby CCTV footage and probing whether the suspects had prior knowledge of the family’s financial holdings.