A gang stole 830 kg of human hair worth ₹1 crore from a godown in Lakshmipura Cross, Bengaluru. The stolen hair was meant for export. Police suspect an insider's involvement and are investigating with CCTV footage. A case has been registered, and efforts to catch the culprits are ongoing.
Bengaluru: In a shocking theft in north Bengaluru, a gang of robbers stole 830 kg of human hair worth nearly ₹1 crore from a godown at Lakshmipura Cross. The stolen hair was meant for export, and police have launched an investigation to track down the culprits.
The theft occurred in the early hours of February 29, when around six miscreants arrived in a Mahindra Bolero SUV. They broke open the shutter of the godown, loaded 27 bags of human hair, and fled the scene. The victim, Venkataswamy K, a 73-year-old hair trader, had shifted his storage facility from Hebbal to Lakshmipura Cross on February 12. He had stocked the hair in a basement godown of a commercial building, reported TOI.
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A resident saw the gang loading bags into the SUV. Since the men were speaking Telugu and giving each other instructions, he assumed it was their own stock and went home. However, another passerby noticed some hair scattered on the road, grew suspicious, and alerted the police control room (112).
A Hoysala patrol vehicle arrived at the spot and found the godown shutter half-open. They immediately alerted nearby shop owners, and by 1:50 AM, the news reached Venkataswamy.
"I rushed to the godown and saw that everything was gone. All 830 kg of hair was stolen. These bags were already checked and marked by the buyer," he said.
Venkataswamy supplies human hair to a Hyderabad-based businessman, who exports it to Burma. From there, the hair reaches China, which is used to make wigs and extensions.
The business involves collecting high-quality human hair from districts in Andhra Pradesh, such as Kadapa and Srikakulam. Buyers pay ₹1,000 to ₹2,000 per kg to people selling their hair, then sell it to agents, who pass it on to traders like Venkataswamy.
The Indian hair market is in high demand globally, especially in Burma and China, due to its quality and lower cost than hair from other countries. Venkataswamy suspects the robbery was an inside job. "Someone in the hair trading business might have known that I had stored a large quantity of hair here," he said.
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CCTV footage from nearby buildings captured the gang and the SUV, but the vehicle's registration number is unclear due to poor video quality.
The Soladevanahalli police have registered a case under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Section 305 (theft in a dwelling house, vehicle, or place of worship) and Section 331 (house trespass or housebreaking). Efforts are on to nab the culprits.
