Former India hockey captain MM Somaya on Wednesday (November 11) was a relieved man and said he was feeling as if he has won the Olympic medal again as Bengaluru Police arrested two men and recovered his stolen medals including the gold won at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
On October 28, Somaya’s Bengaluru home at HAL 3rd Stage, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Indiranagar police station, was burgled when he and his family were away in their native place in Coorg.
The accused Manikya alias Manikanta (31), a labourer, and Bharat (25), both residents of Bengaluru, were arrested, police said.
All 8 medals recovered
Police said Manikya is involved in 33 cases – 25 in Karnataka and the remaining in Tamil Nadu, while Bharat is allegedly involved in two cases – murder and theft.
The arrest was announced by Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh during a press conference in Bengaluru.
Also read: Olympic gold medal stolen from hockey legend MM Somaya’s Bengaluru home
With their arrest, police recovered all eight stolen medals, including the gold medal, a silver medal from the 1982 New Delhi Asian Games, a bronze medal from the 1986 Seoul Asian Games and a bronze medal from the 1982 Champions Trophy in Amsterdam, along with other valuables.
The incident came to light when one of Somaya’s neighbours noticed that the door of his house was open and alerted him, suspecting a break-in, police said.
According to police, upon returning home on October 28, Somaya found that unidentified persons had broken the lock of the main entrance and gained entry into the house. They had stolen gold, silver and bronze medals won at international sporting events, along with other gold and silver articles and cash.
8 teams formed to probe case
Following the incident, eight special teams were constituted to investigate the case.
On November 9, two persons were apprehended along with the two-wheeler allegedly used in the commission of the offence near Hagalahalli Cross in Ramanagara, a senior police officer said.
Somaya’s medals displayed by police along with his picture in Bengaluru after the arrests were made.
During interrogation, they confessed to having committed the offence along with another friend, he said.
On November 10, both accused were taken into police custody for eight days for further interrogation, police said.
“During interrogation, they revealed that one gold medal and one silver medal out of the stolen international medals had been sold to a gold company in Rajajinagar, while the remaining medals had been kept at the residential house of one of the accused near H Cross, Hoskote,” the officer said.
“Based on the information provided by the accused, one gold medal and one silver medal were recovered from the gold company. In addition, six medals, one Kodava sword, an Olympic bag and one camera were recovered from the residential house of one of the accused,” he said.
Efforts are underway to trace the remaining absconding accused, and further investigation is in progress, police said.
DCP Amathe said a Rs one lakh reward has been sanctioned to the team for cracking the case.
What Somaya said
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, 67-year-old Somaya thanked the Bengaluru Police Commissioner and his team, including DCP (East) Vikram Amathe, for their efforts over the last few days and cracking it within a short period.
He said the police had recovered not only the medals stolen from his residence but also the other valuables taken during the theft.
“They (the medals) are an honour not only for me personally but it is an honour for the state and the country. So, he (Amathe) was very reassuring and he and his team at the Indiranagar Police station have done a magnificent job,” Somaya said.
“And I’m really grateful to them. I feel I have won the Olympic medal once again. I am really happy with how police handled this case and cracked within a short period,” he added.