Gang robs jeweller of 180 g gold, flees in his car with wife and son near Mangaluru

2 min readBengaluruUpdated: Jun 30, 2026 06:53 PM IST

The jeweller from Maharashtra was travelling with his family to Kerala when the masked men struck. (AI image)

A seven-member gang allegedly intercepted a jeweller’s car on NH 66 near Mangaluru early on Monday, assaulted him, robbed gold worth around Rs 20 lakh, and fled in his vehicle with his wife and son inside before abandoning them a few kilometres away.

Vikas Subbarao Dhanavade, a jeweller from Sangli in Maharashtra, was travelling with his family to Payyanur in Kerala when masked men, arriving in two Toyota Innovas and a Swift, intercepted his vehicle near Dwara Hotel at Baikampady Junction around 2.15 am, the police said.

According to Dhanavade’s complaint with the Surathkal police, the gang threatened the family, assaulted him, and forced him out of his Kerala-registered Swift Dzire before driving away in it. The gang drove towards the Panambur Beach Road, where they allegedly robbed Dhanavade’s wife of her bag containing around 180 grams of gold ornaments. The gang abandoned the woman and the child before escaping with their car and two mobile phones, according to the police.

The police said the gang left a gold chain worn by Dhanavade’s wife untouched.

Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy said investigators have obtained vital clues in the case and constituted multiple teams to trace the gang. They are examining CCTV footage and other technical evidence as part of the investigation.

The police have registered a case under charges of dacoity involving violence, mischief causing damage to property, aggravated kidnapping or abduction, and wrongful restraint, along with those under the Karnataka Prevention of Destruction and Loss of Property Act 1981.