Visakhapatnam: The Kasibugga Police of Srikakulam district have arrested three individuals in connection with a robbery case where an elderly woman was threatened at knifepoint and had her gold jewellery stolen. The police made the arrests on March 16, recovering all stolen property.
According to the press release issued by the district police office Srikakulam, on March 12, 65-year-old Dumpala Yasodha was robbed of her gold ornaments while travelling from Palasa Kidney Hospital to her home in Kalinga Kosangipuram village.
The main accused, 19-year-old Bangarubandi Pradeep, allegedly offered the victim a ride on his scooter, then diverted to an isolated area near GME Colony, where he threatened her with a knife and forcibly removed gold jewellery weighing approximately 4 tolas from her neck before fleeing.
Police investigations revealed that Pradeep, an ITI dropout, had been gambling on online betting apps and had previously transferred Rs 1,10,000 from his mother’s account without permission. After losing this money on the ‘Teen Patti’ app, he planned the robbery to recoup his losses.
Following the theft, Pradeep enlisted the help of his uncle, 36-year-old Rosuva Kiran Kumar, to sell the stolen jewellery, where he contacted the third accused, 39-year-old Pawar Ranjith, a gold item manufacturer, who purchased the stolen items for Rs 1,77,000.
Of this amount, Kiran kept Rs 27,000 as his share while giving Rs 1,50,000 to Pradeep, who reportedly lost some of it again through online gambling. The case has been registered under Section 309(6) of the BNS at Kasibugga Police Station. The sub-divisional police officer of Kasibugga is overseeing the investigation.
