In a major breakthrough, Udupi police have arrested five interstate suspects linked to the sensational jewellery shop theft in the city.
The arrested individuals are Shubham Tanaji Sathe (25), Praveen Appa Sathe (23), Nilesh Bapu Kasturi (19), Sagar Dattatreya Kandgale (32), and Bagav Rohit Shrimant (25), all residents of Solapur district, Maharashtra.
The case was registered following a complaint by Vaibhav Mohan Ghatge, owner of the jewellery shop on Vadiraj Road, Udupi, who reported on September 9, 2025, that his shop had been broken into the night before. The thieves used duplicate keys to open the shutter lock and stole gold ornaments worth approximately Rs 95.71 lakh from a refinery machine inside the shop.
Under the leadership of Police Inspector Manjunath V Badiger, a special police team from Udupi, with support from Akluj police in Maharashtra, apprehended the accused on September 12 in Nimgav, Malshiras Taluk, Solapur district.
During the operation, the police recovered a significant portion of the stolen goods, including 748.8 grams of gold valued at Rs 74.88 lakh, 4.445 kg of silver worth Rs 3.6 lakh, Rs 5 lakh in cash, and a Maruti Swift car worth Rs 4 lakh used in the crime. The total value of the recovered property is estimated at Rs 87.48 lakh.
Police continue their investigation to recover the remaining stolen goods and identify any additional accomplices.
