Representative image of being arrested.
Credit: iStock Photo
Bengaluru: The Ramanagara police have arrested a live-in couple who were allegedly on the run for 10 months after committing a series of robberies and a murder.
The police said the couple, Jeevan and Asha, residents of Hoskote, visited various homes on the outskirts of Bengaluru and in Ramanagara posing as house-hunters.
They specifically targeted senior citizens living alone, befriending them, and gaining their trust by making frequent visits. Once they built a rapport, the couple, both aged 30, would attack their victims and rob them of gold, cash, and other valuables.
In one such incident, the couple used the same modus operandi to rob a house in Tavarekere in August, making off with gold worth Rs 50 lakh. While the police launched investigations, they initially had no leads.
However, they eventually got on the couple's trail after receiving intelligence that the pair was planning another robbery in Tavarekere, Ramanagara.
Upon tracking them down, the police were shocked to discover that the couple was also involved in a murder case.
In February, the body of an elderly woman was found in a sump at her home in Madanayakanahalli. The woman, who lived alone, had been murdered, and her body was discovered by neighbours. Despite extensive searches, the police had no breakthrough in the case until they learned that Jeevan and Asha were behind the crime.
A police officer close to the investigation told DH that Jeevan and Asha had met a few years ago. Jeevan, unmarried at the time, worked as a cake master at a bakery, while Asha was separated from her husband and unemployed. Faced with heavy debts, Jeevan and Asha reportedly decided to turn to crime to repay their loans.
A key factor in the couple’s ability to evade capture for so long was their low profile. They lived quietly and deliberately avoided using mobile phones, making it much more difficult for the police to trace their movements, the officer added.
The couple is now in police custody, and further investigations are underway.