10 held for dacoity at Puttur priest's house

Mangaluru, Nov 6: In a joint operation the Mangaluru city police and the Puttur Rural police managed to arrest 10 persons on Sunday in connection with armed dacoity at a priest's house at Perigeri Padekari near Puttur on October 25. They are searching for two more persons involved in the incident.

Ten persons came in two vehicles to the house of Vishnu Bhat on October 25 and took away gold ornaments, silver articles and Rs. 50,000 in cash after tying the hands of Vishnu Bhat's wife and a woman working in the house.

Superintendent of Police Bhushan Gulabrao Borase gave the names of the arrested persons as Krishna Shetty (35), Milan (24), Roopesh Kumar (26), Milton Alwin Pinto (24), Bharat (19), Rakhi (19), Ratan Raj (25), Suresh Acharya (34), Praveen Kumar (23) and Shabari Kumar Naika (24). They are searching for Yashodhar Shetty and Nagesh.

Mr. Borase told presspersons on Sunday that Shabari Kumar, who worked as a labourer in a nearby arecanut farm, gave information to jeweller Suresh Acharya and Praveen Kumar about the jewellery and other valuable articles in Vishnu Bhat's house. Acharya and Praveen Kumar asked Yashodhar Shetty, an accused in murder of Surathakal's Padu Pai, and his associates to carry out the dacoity.

With the help of Mangaluru Police Commissioner M. Chandra Sekhar and city police personnel, the Puttur Rural police arrested the accused. They recovered gold jewellery Rs. 50,000 and silver articles. Two vehicles and 11 mobile phones used by the accused too have been recovered.