Cottonpet police have arrested one of two men accused of stealing ceiling fans from the now-vacant premises of the old Central Crime Branch (CCB) office in Bengaluru. The arrested man, identified as Naveed, was found in possession of both stolen fans, while efforts are underway to trace his accomplice.
According to police, the theft took place around midnight on October 24, when the duo broke into the old CCB quarters located within the agency’s former office compound, said a report by The Times of India. The building, which once housed the CCB, had been vacated in August last year after the department shifted to its new office inside the BMTC building near Shantinagar bus stand.
A complaint filed by ACP Gopala D Jogina, who heads the Special Inquiry Wing of the CCB, stated that various items seized in previous criminal cases and stored at the High Grounds police station had been kept in a secure room on the first floor of an adjacent residential block when the office was relocated. These seized materials, officially listed as Mudde Maal (recovered property), remained under guard by City Armed Reserve personnel, according to the report.
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{{/usCountry}}On the morning of October 25, a constable assigned to guard the premises, Pandu Mohite, discovered that unknown persons had forced open the main door and torn out the wire mesh on the windows to gain entry. When ACP Jogina inspected the site, he confirmed that the seal on the room containing seized valuables was untouched, but the culprits had taken off with two ceiling fans worth about ₹1,200, which are government property.
Cottonpet police registered a case under Sections 305 (theft in a dwelling place) and 331 (house-trespass or housebreaking) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). CCTV footage from the area helped identify Naveed, who later admitted to the theft and revealed the involvement of another suspect.