It has been well over a month since Indian cricket captain Anil Kumble’s kit bag was stolen from the Chinnaswamy Stadium, but the police are still groping for clues in the case.
They, in fact, say that they have reached a dead end in the investigation.
On July 19, Kumble had gone to the stadium for a practice session between 8am and 9.45am. He had put his kit bag near the periphery of the grounds before going for practice.
But, after the session, when he went to collect the bag, he found it missing. The bag had three debit cards, a credit card, his Apple iPhone, four gold-coated silver coins, Rs3,000 in cash and some documents.
“We have interrogated almost all the staff at the stadium, including those in the restaurant and the club house,” a police officer who is part of the investigation, said.
“We have screened the entire security staff. But nothing has come out of the investigation so far,” the officer, who did not want to be named, said. He said the inquiry had reached a dead end.
Assistant commissioner of police (Cubbon Park sub division) KN Jitendranath, however, disagreed.
He said the police were still investigating and were very hopeful of cracking the casesoon.
“This is the first time any such incident has happened within the stadium,” he said. “We have done our job by searching every nook and corner of the stadium since the bag was stolen. But, it doesn’t seem to be the job of anyone from within the stadium. We suspect the involvement of someone unconnected with the stadium.”
The cricketer asked people present in the stadium to find out if any one had seen the bag. But no one seemed to have seen it.
The cricketer then approached the police and filed a complaint.
The police have blamed the stadium authorities for lax security. They were not in the habit of providing security for players or their belongings during practice sessions, the police said.
The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) had its own arrangements for security and they never called cops for security duty except during emergencies, senior police officers said.
“They seek our intervention when matches take place at the stadium,” deputy commissioner of police (central) G Ramesh had said after the theft was reported. “Many a times, the police are allowed to enter the stadium only when an offence takes place,” he had said.
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