Date:23/09/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/09/23/stories/2006092324060300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Two held on charge of robbery

Staff Reporter

Jewellery worth Rs. 50 lakh was recovered from the accused

RICH HAUL: Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Gopal B. Hosur inspecting the jewellery that was recovered from two persons arrested by the Seshadripuram police, in Bangalore on Friday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE: The Seshadripuram sub-division police arrested two persons from Kerala, who had allegedly robbed the occupants of 15 houses in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu at gunpoint, and recovered gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs. 50 lakh.

The police also seized an automatic pistol from Edwin Mathews (46) of Kozhikode district and his accomplice Raghavan V. Nair (44) of Kannur district. Mathews had seven aliases such as Baldy, A.B. Varghese, C.K. Raju and Babu.

Mathews was on the run since 1998 and the Mysore Police Commissioner Praveen Sood had declared a reward of Rs. 10,000 on his head six months ago, the police said.

A team led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (Seshadripuram sub-division) K.R. Surendra Rao arrested the two while they were attempting to break into Sudhakar Rao's house on 3rd Main, Sadashivanagar, in the early hours of September 7, the police said.

During interrogation, the accused gave details of the 15 robberies they had committed in Bangalore, Mysore and Tamil Nadu since 1999. Subsequently, a police team went to Mysore, Kozhikode and Mumbai and recovered the jewellery they had stolen.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Gopal B. Hosur told The Hindu that they would soon return the ornaments to their owners after obtaining permission from courts. Mathews and Nair targeted the houses of the rich in posh localities. After studying the structure of the houses and the movements of the occupants, they entered the houses in the early hours of the day by breaking the window grills with an automobile jack.

After waking up the people in the houses, they threatened them with a pistol and made them part with cash and jewellery.

The Tamil Nadu police arrested Mathews, a school dropout, in 1989 for similar offences in that State, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Later, he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment.

While serving the sentence, he escaped from the custody twice. After he was granted parole in 1998, he jumped the parole and settled in Mumbai. Since 1999 he was operating in Bangalore, Mysore and Tamil Nadu, the police said.