Bengaluru
In a real-life scenario reminiscent of a movie plot, three college students have found themselves behind bars instead of in classrooms. Prabhu, a BCA student from HSR Layout, along with Mounesh and Ajay, BCom students, took a drastic turn in their lives by resorting to theft to finance their struggling lifestyles. The trio embarked on a daring heist on the night of September 28, targeting the Gadget Club mobile store on New BEL Road, where they made off with iPhones and smartwatches worth lakhs of rupees. Following the crime, Inspector Bhagyavati J Bunty and her team promptly launched an operation, leading to the arrest of the three culprits, including Prabhu. During the investigation, the police recovered a substantial cache of stolen goods, including 29 iPhones valued at 50 lakh rupees, 23 other expensive mobile phones, and 202 smartphones and laptops. Security footage from the mobile shop played a pivotal role in identifying the thieves. The breakthrough came when the authorities tracked down a bike captured on camera, showing the suspects evading traffic signals while carrying suitcases. This led the police to HSR Layout, where Ajay was detained and subsequently confessed to the robbery. The trio, who had been friends for years despite attending different colleges, appeared to be gifted students with fluent English skills. However, their recent involvement in criminal activities was driven by a desire for a more extravagant lifestyle than their middle-class backgrounds could afford. Prabhu, who had purchased an iPhone from the Gadget Club store a month earlier, had carefully observed the store’s low nighttime foot traffic, paving the way for their ill-fated plan to rob the mobile shop. Despite their fluent English and promising academic backgrounds, the allure of easy money led them down a path of crime.
