Mangaluru: City police have arrested three persons in connection with a gold trader dacoity on NH-66 near Baikampady in the early hours of June 29. Police have secured 10-day custody of the accused and intensified efforts to trace the remaining 13 suspects.City police commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy CH said complainant Vikas Subbarao Dhanawade, 44, was travelling with his family from Maharashtra to Payyanur in Kerala. Around 2.45am on June 29, near Baikampady in Mangaluru, six to seven masked men in two SUVs and another car intercepted their vehicle.The accused allegedly threatened the family with swords and assaulted the complainant, causing injuries. They then forcibly abducted his wife and son and abandoned them a few kilometres away. The accused fled with the complainant’s car, around 180 grams of gold ornaments worth approximately Rs 20 lakh, two mobile phones worth about Rs 10,000, and the car valued at around Rs 3 lakh, taking away property worth a total of Rs 23.1 lakh.Panambur Police Station registered a case under sections 310(2), 311, 324(2), 137(2) and 126(2) of the BNS, along with Section 2(b) of the KPDLP Act.During the investigation, police recovered the complainant’s car on June 30 at around 11.30am from a hilly area at Pachinadka in Bantwal taluk. It had been abandoned without number plates.On July 2, Panambur police inspector Saleem Abbas and his team arrested the first accused, Nimil RK, 37, a resident of Kayalode, Mambaram Post, Thalassery taluk, Kannur district, Kerala, near a hospital in Chala, Kannur.Later the same day, Panambur PSI Jnana Shekhar and his team arrested Irshad, 40, a resident of Hakathur, Madikeri taluk, Kodagu district, at Ponnampet. Police said he had allegedly assisted the accused and provided them shelter.Another accused, Mustafa, 49, a resident near Madikeri Market, was arrested the same night near the Lions Club bus stand at Murnad Junction in Madikeri taluk. He is accused of arranging a vehicle for the gang and providing them shelter.Preliminary investigation revealed that 14 persons directly participated in the dacoity, while two others assisted them with logistical support and shelter. The arrested accused were produced before the court on Friday.Police said 13 accused, including the main perpetrators, are still absconding. So far, police have recovered the complainant’s car and an SUV allegedly used in the crime. The remaining three vehicles, the 180 grams of stolen gold ornaments, and the two mobile phones are yet to be recovered.Preliminary investigation indicates that the accused are natives of Kodagu and Kerala. The investigation is being supervised by ACP North sub-division Sreekanth K and CCB ACP Manoj Kumar Naik, with Panambur police inspector Saleem Abbas, PSIs Sreekala KT and Jnana Shekhar, along with personnel from Kavoor, Mulki, Kankanady and Urwa police stations and the CCB participating.
