Bengaluru Police caught a clever thief, 36-year-old Rajesh B.G., who pulled off a sparkling crime – stealing gold rings by swapping them with fake ones! The dashing offender’s arrest has shaken the city, cracking open three jewellery theft cases and recovering over 22 grams of precious gold. Rajesh, from Kempegowdanagar in Byadarahalli, was arrested on November 17. A Bengaluru court quickly sent him to judicial custody. The drama began in the Sri Ganesh Gold Palace shop at Bhuvaneshwarinagar, where owner Babu Lal told police about a theft on November 3. Around 8 p.m., a mysterious man eyed gold rings and slyly swapped a real ring weighing 15.49 grams with a fake one while staff were busy elsewhere. "The discrepancy was discovered later when the staff carried out routine checks. The missing ring was worth about ₹1.75 lakh," said Mr. Lal. The Jnanabharathi Police swung into action, registering a case following the complaint and soon arrested Rajesh. During questioning, Rajesh surprised everyone by confessing to similar crimes in the Jnanabharati and Magadi Road police limits. But the plot thickened! He had melted the stolen jewellery to erase all traces, turning gold rings into small gold pieces. The police struck gold in their hunt, recovering gold pieces of 5.9 grams, 8.9 grams, and even a gold ring weighing 7.57 grams — all valued around ₹2.3 lakh. These dazzling recoveries solved three theft cases linked to Rajesh, from two police stations in Jnanabharathi and one from Magadi Road. Insiders say Rajesh is no rookie. He was nabbed earlier in 2024 for thefts at Kengeri and Govindarajanagar police stations. After his release on bail, this sneaky crook couldn't resist striking again in Bengaluru’s jewellery world. With Rajesh now behind bars, the city hopes to see a sparkle-free stopping of such crafty crimes!