Time to steal: Thieves burgle Rs2 crore worth of watches in Bangalore

A luxury watch showroom near Richmond Road junction was broken into on Friday night and watches and pens worth Rs2 crore were stolen. The police, however, believe that the actual cost could skyrocket once a complete inventory is carried out.

The robbery came to light on Saturday morning when Prithviraj, one of the owners of Rodeo Drive Luxury Products, arrived to open the showroom at 9.30am. He found the lock on the front rolling shutter broken and the second rolling shutter bent out of shape.

He suspected something was amiss and informed the police immediately. The Ashokanagar police rushed to the spot and found the shop burgled. Assistant commissioner of police (Ulsoor Gate sub-division) PS Gachchinakatti, said almost 250 to 300 luxury watches and 26 Mont Blanc pens were stolen. Prithviraj claims that the prices of the stolen watches started from Rs20,000 and went up to Rs1.5 lakh. He also stated that nearly Rs2 crore worth of watches and pens were stolen from the shop.

Forensic experts and the dog squad arrived at the spot to collect evidence. Forensic experts discovered fingerprints on the glass showcases. The police believe the robbery may have been carried out by a gang that had been casing the store for some time. The police also suspect a security guard who left the job 20 days ago.

The police have formed a team to investigate the case. Incidentally, the shop is close to the Pride Hotel from where a gang of foreigners made away with Rs1.5 crore worth of gold jewellery on March 22.

The joint commissioner of police (crime) Alok Kumar said the shop had CCTV cameras, but they were switched off when the burglars broke into the shop. “The shopowner said the CCTV was normally switched off when the shop closed. The shop was closed around 9.30pm on Friday,” said Kumar. There was no security guard or alarms on the premises.