Father-Son Duo Arrested for Stealing Computer Components Worth Rs 80 Lakh in Bengaluru
The Bengaluru police have arrested a father and son for allegedly stealing computer components and cash from a shop in HBR Layout, Nagawara, recovering stolen items worth Rs 80 lakh, officials said on Wednesday. The accused Manjunath M S, 45, a water supplier, and his son Hemanth, 21, a laptop service worker, were arrested on March 15 after CCTV footage showed the father, disguised in a burqa, breaking open the lock and entering the shop of a resident of T Channaiah Layout, Nagawara, to carry out the theft. The complainant stated that after closing his computer shop in the 4th block of HBR Layout around midnight on March 13, he returned the next morning around 11 am to find the shop door open. The lock of the storage area was found broken, and laptop RAMs, SSD hard disks worth Rs 80 lakh, along with Rs 2.40 lakh in cash, were missing. The police said the accused were previously known to the complainant, as he had earlier lived in a rented house owned by them. “The accused’s business was not doing well, while the complainant’s business had recently improved. This appears to have motivated the theft,” an officer said. He lodged a complaint with the Govindpura police station on March 14. During the investigation, the Govindapura police gathered technical evidence and developed leads. On March 15, Hemanth was arrested near a hotel on Chanakya Layout Main Road, Nagawara, along with the two-wheeler used in the crime. During questioning, he admitted to committing the theft with his father, leading to Manjunath’s arrest near Nagawara Circle. On further interrogation, the accused revealed that the stolen computer components and cash had been stored at their shop in T Channaiah Layout. Acting on this information, police recovered 444 DDR4 RAM modules, 279 SSD hard disks, and Rs 2,29,900 in cash on March 17, recovering the entire stolen property. “The father-son duo planned and executed the theft together. Based on technical evidence and sustained investigation, we were able to recover all the stolen property intact. We are continuing the probe to check if others were involved”, a police officer said. On March 16, the accused were produced before the court and remanded in police custody for three days. They were produced again on March 17 and remanded in judicial custody.
