Staffer recalls horror of 7-kg gold robbery by armed gang in Karnataka’s Hunsur

Mysuru: A staffer on Monday recounted the terrifying moments of a brazen daylight robbery in which an armed gang looted around 7 kg of gold and diamonds worth Rs 10 crore from a jewellery showroom in Hunsur town of Mysuru district.

As reported earlier, in a daring daylight robbery, a seven-member gang barged into the Sky Gold and Diamonds showroom, located behind the Hunsur bus stand, at around 2.30 p.m. on Sunday (December 28). Armed with guns, the masked assailants threatened staff and looted gold ornaments worth several crores of rupees before fleeing on two motorcycles. Of the seven accused, most were wearing masks, and one of them was wearing a helmet.

The entire incident was captured on CCTV cameras. Staff members attempted to chase the robbers but were unsuccessful. Preliminary information suggested that around 4 kg of gold ornaments were looted. However, the latest estimation stated that a total of 7 kg of ornaments have been looted.

Speaking to the media, staffer Raju shared that the incident occurred during lunchtime when a few employees had stepped out for lunch as part of their routine. “Four of us went first and returned. The manager and others went out afterwards. While they were away, the robbery took place,” he said.

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Raju said the manager received information about the robbery through a message and rushed back to the showroom. “He tried to lock the front door to prevent the robbers from escaping. All these movements were recorded on CCTV,” he added.

However, the robbers kicked the door open and opened fire at the manager.

“After firing, they immediately stopped collecting jewellery and fled the spot. The manager narrowly escaped as he ran backwards,” Raju said.

He stated that before the manager returned, the robbers were looting the jewellery without any hurry.

“They threatened us at gunpoint and carried out the robbery fearlessly. One of our staff members was forced to load the jewellery into bags after being threatened with a gun,” he said.

According to Raju, the robbers were speaking in Hindi and ordered the staff to cooperate. “When they entered, they told us to sit down, repeatedly saying ‘baith, baith’ (sit, sit). I initially refused, and they tried to assault me and hit me with the gun. Since customers and children were present, we did not resist further,” he said.

He added that customers inside the showroom were also terrified. “Many customers were wearing gold ornaments. They were scared both for their lives and for their jewellery,” he said.

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Raju said that had the manager not returned in time, the robbers would have looted the entire stock. He added that the management had noticed the incident on CCTV footage from a remote location and alerted the manager, Asgar, who rushed to the spot and locked the door from outside.

Meanwhile, Minister for Social Welfare and Mysuru District In-Charge Minister H.C. Mahadevappa, speaking in Bengaluru on Monday, said that no concrete clues had been gathered so far regarding the accused. “Police are working on collecting evidence. Based on one incident, it cannot be concluded that the crime rate is high,” he said.

The minister added that the incident occurred on a main road and assured that steps would be taken to prevent such incidents in the future. “The Superintendent of Police has briefed me about the case, and appropriate action will be taken,” he said.

Superintendent of Police N. Vishnuvardhana, Inspector General of Police M.B. Boralinagayya, and fingerprint experts visited the spot as part of the investigation. A case has been registered at the Hunsur police station.