Bengaluru: \'Japan\' Raja, his burglar gang busted, jewellery recovered

Bengaluru: Talaghattapura police arrested notorious Raja alias Japan Raja (42) and his gang, who were involved in a series of house burglaries across the city. The police recovered 501 gm of gold and 4.519 kg of silver articles, worth Rs 20 lakh, from the gang. With the arrest of the accused, the police have solved 10 cases of house burglary in Talaghattapura police limits and one in Kengeri.

The arrested were identified as Gopi (42), David (35), a resident of Magadi Road, Arjun alias Karthik (23), a resident of Banashankari, Shivananda alias Shiva (50) and Somashekar alias Soma (33) from Sarabandepalya near Banashankari.

The gang was headed by Japan Raja and they targeted houses on the city’s outskirts. Though they had gone to jail for similar offences, they continued to commit crimes. Even when in jail, Japan Raja would operate his gang, the police said.

When out of prison, Raja would take a house on rent and target the owner’s house when no family member was around. The gang would finish the burglary in just 10-20 minutes and disappear. Later, Raja’s two wives would sell the jewellery to brokers, the police said.