Bengaluru: Man robbed by friends after being forced to drink

In a shocking incident of betrayal, a businessman was allegedly drugged and assaulted by his own friends, who then hired a gang to rob him of gold jewellery worth lakhs. The incident occurred in the Chikkajala police limits on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

The victim, Chandan, a businessman, has filed a complaint leading to the arrest of his friends — also named Chandan, along with Pavan, Achal, and Prem Shetty. Police have recovered 40 grams of gold chain, 20 grams of bracelet, and a 9-gram gold ring from the accused, all together worth several lakhs of rupees.

According to the police, the complainant Chandan had been friends with the accused Pavan and Achal for over four years. On April 30, the three visited the “Next Chapter” pub in Chikkajala. There, Pavan and Achal allegedly plied Chandan with alcohol until he was completely intoxicated.

They then took him outside to a car, under the pretext of heading home. However, Achal had secretly contacted Prem Shetty from JP Nagar, who, along with his gang, arrived at the spot around 1:30 a.m. on motorcycles. The gang brutally assaulted the intoxicated Chandan and robbed him of his gold jewellery before fleeing the scene.

Ten days after the incident, Chandan approached the police and named his own friends as suspects. Upon investigation, police collected the Call Detail Records (CDR) of Pavan and Achal, which revealed multiple calls made to suspicious contacts just before the incident.

Interrogation of Pavan and Achal exposed the full robbery plot, which was masterminded with the help of Prem Shetty and his gang. All four men have now been arrested.

According to investigators, Chandan is known for his lavish lifestyle, often seen wearing heavy gold jewellery and traveling in a luxury car. His friends, Pavan and Achal, were well aware of his wealth.

Achal, who runs a cafe in JP Nagar, had recently incurred heavy financial losses and was burdened with debt. Eyeing Chandan’s wealth as an easy target, Achal conspired to rob him, with Pavan’s support. Police believe financial desperation and jealousy were the driving factors behind the betrayal.

The Chikkajala police are continuing further investigations to verify if more people were involved in the orchestrated robbery.