Gold-diggers' precision leaves cops clueless

Bangalore: First, they marked a 250-metre stretch of the drain closed from the top, and crawled along it. Then, they dug two metres horizontally, took a 90 degree turn, and dug another two metres vertically. As planned, they came out between the cash counter and shop owner's chair, robbed the place and slipped away.
This is not a scene from any Bollywood film, but what exactly happened at a jewellery shop in Vidyaranyapura last week when burglars made away with gold worth Rs 1 crore.The spot from where they surfaced into the room allowed them to avoid the CCTV and disable it without getting captured. The police are baffled by this highly professional heist and are yet to find any clues.
Digging a tunnel for robbery is nothing new, but it needs precision. The robbers need to work out distances accurately because even a slight error can lead them in the wrong direction. Equally important is the time factor. In this case, the thieves struck between 1.30 pm and 4.30 pm when the shop was closed for lunch, and managed to finish their work just on time.
There have been similar incidents earlier too. Three years ago, burglars used the same method to rob 200 gm of gold and 14 kg of silver from a shop in Banaswadi. In 1997, two adjoining jewellery shops in Domlur were robbed in similar fashion. In two other cases in 2002-03 __ Yeshwantpur and Peenya __ police managed to arrest the thieves and recover the goods.
A police officer said: "Digging a tunnel to gain entry is risky and very few people are known to do it. First of all, getting inside a drain is difficult due to the stench, slush and poisonous gases. Then they have to dig through hard soil and the concrete floor. Some habitual offenders resort to digging a hole in the wall."
In this case, investigating officials feel the burglars must have done a recce before striking. "It is possible that most of the digging happened at night and they just had to finish off the last bit of work that afternoon. Loose soil beneath the shop helped them."
Store owner Bahubal came to the city four years ago from Hassan district. He was robbed of jewellery worth Rs 5 lakh five years ago in Channarayapatna. Six persons were arrested then.
NOTORIOUS DIGGERS
* Mori Kantha, a habitual offender, used to escape through drains after committing a crime
* Another habitual offender from Kolar could stay in drains for hours