Davanagere (Karnataka), Nov 25 (IANS) In a development raising serious concerns, two Karnataka Police Sub-Inspectors are among the four persons arrested in connection with a gold robbery case in the state’s Davanagere district on Tuesday.

The incident was reported from the KTJ Nagar police station limits in Davanagere city.

The arrested police officers have been identified as Malappa Chippalakatti and Praveen Kumar, both of whom were serving at the IGP’s office. The other two accused, Sathish Revanakar and Nagaraj Revanakar, worked as assistants at a gold shop in Davanagere city.

The arrests were made based on a complaint filed by Vishwanath Arkasali, a gold businessman from Karwar.

According to police, Vishwanath, who buys gold from merchants in Davanagere and makes jewellery for them, had arrived at the Davanagere bus stop carrying 80 grams of gold. He had purchased gold and rings on Monday and was travelling from the Davangere bus stand to Hubballi around midnight, and was later scheduled to proceed to Karwar as part of his business routine.

However, after receiving information from the other accused, the sub-inspectors, allegedly posing as members of the IG Squad, reportedly showed their police identity cards, grabbed him by the collar, pulled him down, threatened him with a fake gun, and took him away in a car. They drove near the KTJ Nagar police station but did not go inside. Instead, they snatched the gold from the victim, dropped him near the Davanagere bus stop and fled.

Following the complaint, KTJ Nagar police took the matter seriously as policemen were involved in the crime. They investigated the case, identified the accused and arrested them. All four have been sent to judicial custody, and police have seized the car used in the offence. Further investigation is underway.

Earlier, the role of a serving police constable, believed to be the key planner of the Rs 7.11 crore daring daylight robbery, had come out in the open from Bengaluru. The accused, Annappa Naik of the Govindapura police station, was arrested along with Xavier, a former employee of Cash Management Services (CMS). According to investigators, the pair had meticulously prepared for the robbery for over six months after Xavier left the company.

Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara had warned that any police personnel involved in criminal activities would be dismissed from service without mercy. He also stated that he had instructed senior officers to maintain strict vigilance in this regard.

–IANS

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