Bengaluru police have arrested two alleged burglars and recovered all eight international medals stolen from the New Thippasandra home of hockey legend MM Somaya, along with other articles taken during the break-in. A third accused remains absconding, police said.
The arrested men have been identified as Manikya alias Manikanta, 31, and Bharat, 25. Police also seized the two-wheeler allegedly used in the burglary. The recovered items include gold, silver and bronze medals, a camera, a Kodagu-style sword and an Olympic bag.
According to the complaint, Somaya and their family had left for their hometown in Kodagu district on October 25. When they returned on October 28, they found that the lock on the front door had been broken. The intruders allegedly entered the house and took the medals, other gold and silver articles and cash.
The Indiranagar police investigation was conducted under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police, East Division, Vikram Amathe. Eight special teams were formed to pursue different leads and examine the burglary. Police also used information from their network of informants, according to the report.
The investigation led to the arrest of the two suspects near Hagalahalli Cross in Ramanagara on November 9. They were produced before a court on November 10 and remanded to police custody for eight days. During questioning, police said the accused disclosed that the burglary had been carried out with the assistance of another associate.
Police said the suspects had sold one gold medal and one silver medal to a gold company in Rajajinagar. Those two medals were subsequently seized from the company. Six other medals were recovered from the residence of one of the accused near H-Cross in Hoskote, along with the camera, sword and Olympic bag.
With these searches, all eight international medals reported stolen from Somaya’s home have been traced and seized. Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh described the recovery as a significant success in the investigation. The police are continuing efforts to locate the third person allegedly involved in the burglary.
Police records cited in the report show that Manikya is involved in 25 cases, including eight registered in Tamil Nadu and the remainder in Karnataka. Bharat is involved in a murder case and a burglary case, police said. Further investigation will continue during the eight-day police custody period.
