On July 4, 2026, Mangaluru City Police announced the arrest of three individuals in connection with a daring highway robbery that occurred on June 29 near Baikampady on National Highway-66. The accused, Nimil RK, 37, from Kerala, Irshad, 37, from Kodagu, and Mustafa, 40, from Kodagu, were taken into custody for their alleged roles in the crime. According to Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy, the robbery involved a gang of six to seven masked men who intercepted a Maruti Swift Dzire car near Baikampady around 2:45 am. The assailants, traveling in two Toyota Innova vehicles and a Swift, threatened the family with machetes, assaulted the driver, Vikas Subbarao Dhanawade, 44, and abducted his wife and son before abandoning them a few kilometers away. The gang made off with approximately 180 grams of gold jewelry worth around Rs 20 lakh, two mobile phones worth Rs 10,000, and the victim’s Swift Dzire car valued at Rs 3 lakh. A case was registered at Panambur Police Station, and subsequent investigations led to the recovery of the stolen Swift Dzire from a hilly area at Pacchinadka in Bantwal taluk on June 30. The accused had removed the vehicle’s registration plates before abandoning it. Authorities have remanded the three arrested accused to 10 days of police custody for further interrogation and are continuing efforts to trace the remaining 13 accused. The investigation is being led by ACP Sreekanth K of Mangaluru North Division, CCB ACP Manoj Kumar Naik, Panambur Inspector Saleem Abbas, and teams from multiple police stations and the City Crime Branch.
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📰 Source: Siasat Gulf