Representative image of a robbery.
Credit: iStock Photo
Bengaluru: In a daring robbery, two masked men walked into a jewellery shop on Bengaluru's northern outskirts, held the shopkeeper at gunpoint and escaped with Rs 50 lakh worth of gold in just 32 seconds.
The lightning-fast heist occurred at Padam Jewellers and Bankers, a small jewellery store in Lakshmipura near Madanayakanahalli, around 9:15 pm on Tuesday.
Police are baffled, and the grainy CCTV footage hasn't provided much help.
Viral CCTV footage shows the men, appearing to be in their late-20s, entering the shop. One of them quickly pulls a gun from his trouser pocket and aims it at the shopkeeper, who is standing across the display counter.
While the gunman warns the shopkeeper not to raise an alarm, his accomplice climbs onto the counter and begins emptying jewellery from the wall-mounted glass showcase into a handbag, and the two storm out.
Police suspect that the robbers arrived on a motorcycle with another accomplice, who waited near the shop during the heist, and rode away with them afterwards.
"All this happened within a minute while the actual robbery lasted a mere 32 seconds," a senior police officer overseeing the investigation told DH.
The gang made off with 650 grams of gold jewellery, including chains and finger rings.
The armed robber wore a gray hoodie and black trousers. He masked his face with a handkerchief and wore a hat. The man who emptied the gold wore a full-sleeve black sweatshirt and blue jeans, and concealed his face with a helmet.
One of them spoke Kannada, according to the police.
Police believe the heist was "very well-planned" and suspect someone having "inside information" about the shop.
Police are also investigating if the pistol-like gun that the suspect brandished was a toy gun or a real firearm.
"The footage isn't clear. We haven't been able to identify the firearm. We will get a clear picture only after the suspects are arrested," the officer said.
Madanayakanahalli police have opened an FIR under IPC sections 390 (robbery)and 506 (criminal intimidation), along with relevant sections of the Arms Act.
A special police team is hunting for the suspects.