A 25-year-old man, who had stolen 1,980 kg of cashew nuts worth Rs 16 lakh from a godown at Vyalikaval, has landed in the police net.
The suspect has been identified as Prashant Tanji Patil, a native of Sangli district in Maharashtra.
According to the police, Patil had come to the city three years ago and was staying at a rented house in Basaveshwara Layout in Attiguppe. He would purchase dry fruits from Rajesh Kamath, a businessman and the owner of Om Sri Traders, and sell them to retail shops in the city. But he was running at a loss.
On August 21, he met Kamath and asked for a loan of Rs 5 lakh, but was turned down.
Soon, Patil got to know that Kamath had stored over 1,980 kg of cashew nuts and money at the godown. In desperate need of money, he went to the godown, used a duplicate key to gain entry and stole the goods.
The incident came to light when Kamath went to the godown the following day. He filed a complaint with the Vyalikaval police, saying he suspected Patil's hand in the theft.
Analysis of Patil's call records indicated that he was loitering around the godown on the day of the theft, and the police detained him.
On questioning, he confessed to the crime and said that he had decided to steal in order to overcome his financial crisis.