A software engineer's exploits as a serial house burglar came to an end after he struck at the house of his neighbour where he would eat whenever his wife was away, police said.
Chandrashekhar, 33, who works for a software company in Electronics City, was unhappy with his salary and wanted to lead a lavish life. He confided in his friend, Nagendra, 30, who is a car driver. They both live in Chikkabidarakallu, north Bengaluru.
Nagendra, who also needed money, suggested that they team up and burgle homes. Chandrashekhar, police said, liked the idea. Chandrashekhar owns a car. He hired Nagendra as a driver.
Together, they started striking at homes. They devised a simple but ingenious strategy to identify houses they could target. They would drive in residential localities in and around Madanayakanahalli, Tumakuru Road, and carry a telephone directory. They would look for locked houses, get their landlines from the directory and call them repeatedly just to check if the calls were returned. If nobody picked up the phone, they would decide to target that house.
The duo used crowbars to open the doors and enter the house, Nagesh, inspector, Madanayakanahalli police station, told DH. This way, they burgled nearly 20 houses — 11 in Madanayakanahalli alone — and amassed gold and silver ornaments. They pledged the stolen jewellery with Pooja Bangles store and Muthoot Finance outlet at Doddabelavangala in Doddaballapur taluk, Nagendra's native place.
The burglaries went undetected. An emboldened Chandrashekhar decided to burgle the house of his neighbour, Siddagangamma, where he would eat and pay for it whenever his wife was away.
The duo struck at the house last month when the elderly woman was away. What's more, Chandrashekhar himself filed a complaint with the police and sought immediate recovery of the stolen ornaments.
During the investigation, police questioned many people, including Chandrashekhar. They learnt that he was away from home for three days after the theft. When questioned about his absence, he became nervous, making police suspicious. They grilled him and he spilled the beans. Based on his information, police later caught Nagendra.
The police inspector said they had recovered 510 gm of gold and one kg of silver ornaments worth Rs 15.5 lakh. Interestingly, the two men's wives were not aware of their crimes.
Chandrashekhar, 33, who works for a software company in Electronics City, was unhappy with his salary and wanted to lead a lavish life. He confided in his friend, Nagendra, 30, who is a car driver. They both live in Chikkabidarakallu, north Bengaluru.
Nagendra, who also needed money, suggested that they team up and burgle homes. Chandrashekhar, police said, liked the idea. Chandrashekhar owns a car. He hired Nagendra as a driver.
Together, they started striking at homes. They devised a simple but ingenious strategy to identify houses they could target. They would drive in residential localities in and around Madanayakanahalli, Tumakuru Road, and carry a telephone directory. They would look for locked houses, get their landlines from the directory and call them repeatedly just to check if the calls were returned. If nobody picked up the phone, they would decide to target that house.
The duo used crowbars to open the doors and enter the house, Nagesh, inspector, Madanayakanahalli police station, told DH. This way, they burgled nearly 20 houses — 11 in Madanayakanahalli alone — and amassed gold and silver ornaments. They pledged the stolen jewellery with Pooja Bangles store and Muthoot Finance outlet at Doddabelavangala in Doddaballapur taluk, Nagendra's native place.
The burglaries went undetected. An emboldened Chandrashekhar decided to burgle the house of his neighbour, Siddagangamma, where he would eat and pay for it whenever his wife was away.
The duo struck at the house last month when the elderly woman was away. What's more, Chandrashekhar himself filed a complaint with the police and sought immediate recovery of the stolen ornaments.
During the investigation, police questioned many people, including Chandrashekhar. They learnt that he was away from home for three days after the theft. When questioned about his absence, he became nervous, making police suspicious. They grilled him and he spilled the beans. Based on his information, police later caught Nagendra.
The police inspector said they had recovered 510 gm of gold and one kg of silver ornaments worth Rs 15.5 lakh. Interestingly, the two men's wives were not aware of their crimes.