Bengaluru house owner robbed: Two men came pretending to rent a house, borrowed a hammer, then attacked and snatched her 40-gram mangalya chain

A 59-year-old Bengaluru woman was assaulted and robbed of a 40-gram gold mangalya chain by two men who arrived at her house posing as prospective tenants, in what police say was a carefully planned operation that began nearly two weeks before the robbery.

The incident took place on the evening of 5 August at the home of Yashoda, a resident of Konadasapura in east Bengaluru who runs a small shop in front of Safal Market. Three people have since been secured by Avalahalli police, according to a Times of India report.

How did the Bengaluru robbery happen?


The setup began through an acquaintance named Bharath, whose parents had previously run a roadside eatery on Yashoda's property before returning to their native Chintamani. Bharath approached Yashoda about two weeks before the robbery, telling her that two of his friends were looking for a house on rent and would come to see the property the following morning.

No one turned up the next day. A man then visited her shop separately, introducing himself as Bharath's friend, asking about the rent and advance amount before leaving.

On the evening of 5 August, around 8 PM, two men arrived at her home claiming to be Bharath's friends and asked to be shown the vacant house adjacent to her residence. Trusting the connection to Bharath, Yashoda showed them the property.

What happened inside the house?

The two men complained about cracks in the wall, telling Yashoda one of them was planning to move in with his pregnant wife and wanted the damage fixed. They then took tools from Yashoda's house, including a hammer, and began hitting the wall.

Yashoda objected, telling them the cracks could be fixed with paint after they moved in and asked them only to clean the house. Within minutes, the two men came to her residence while she was cooking.

"One of them put his hand on my shoulder as if he were a friend. When I retorted, they tried to grab my mangalya chain. I held on to it and tried to escape. But they assaulted me and robbed me of the chain," Yashoda told police, as reported by TOI.

When she tried to stop them from fleeing, they overpowered her and escaped on a motorcycle parked nearby.

Who is behind the Bengaluru chain snatching?

Yashoda told Avalahalli police that she recalled Bharath mentioning that his sister had been married to someone in a nearby village, which helped investigators trace him.

A senior police officer told TOI that all three accused have been secured and are being questioned. Efforts are ongoing to recover the gold chain. The officer identified Bharath as the mastermind, adding that the accused had followed Yashoda for nearly two weeks before the robbery to study her movements and valuables.

(With inputs from Times of India)