Human mole nabbed with loot worth Rs 8 Lakhs

Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths nabbed a professional thief while he was attempting to sell gold valuablesworth Rs 8 lakh in Majestic area. Bairaju (28), a native of Ramnagar, revealed during interrogation that he had stolen gold valuables worth Rs 8 lakh from Bhavani pawnshop in Mahadevapura on March 27, after digging a 25 ft long tunnel underground in 10 days. The police had registered a case on March 27 after the shop owner reported the theft. However, investigations were going on and the police had no leads.

Underground: The duo has been booked for theft and investigations
are on to see if they are involved in other cases

Bairaju was in jail for theft and also on a murder rap. While in jail he befriended cellmate Ravi Kumar and they
decided to try their luck at robberies together as he was to be released on bail in 2009. Police also found out that he had scouted around the city for an appropriate target, and after identifying Bhavani pawnbrokers, landed a job as a cleaner at a nearby hotel. Bairaju worked late into the night and then he and Ravi began digging a tunnel from a nearby drain towards the pawnshop, using a short sharpened rod. They completed the tunnel in 10 days, which finally ended below the flooring of the shop.

Unique method

"Bairaju has a unique modus operandi, which was earlier used by dacoits," said Joint CP Alok Kumar, adding that this kind of precision requires a professional. "We have noticed only two such robberies in the past decade, wherein the accused has dug a tunnel," said Kumar adding that Bairaju had used Ravi to help him in digging the tunnel and for shifting valuables to a safe place. A detailed verification revealed that Bairaju was involved in six criminal cases. He was lodged in Central prison between 2003 and 2009 after being apprehended by the Commercial Street police while attempting to sell jewellery.

During interrogation, police discovered that he had murdered the watchman of a hotel in Kalasipalyam, when the former caught him stealing from the hotel. "He was also involved in several theft cases in and around the city and later developed his tunneling technique for his robberies," Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) Krishnam Raju said.