BENGALURU: Leading double lives, four school-going boys from Bengaluru — three Class IX students and one first-year PU student — turned to robbery under the cover of darkness to fund their habits of drugs, cigarettes, and snacks. Their early morning crime spree across East Bengaluru continued for over a year, until a July 3rd heist led to their arrest and exposed a disturbing trail of juvenile delinquency.
The group, all minors, allegedly targeted lone pedestrians near bus stops and on isolated streets during the early morning hours. On the day their luck ran out, two of them — riding a stolen gearless scooter — snatched the handbag and phone of a woman in her 50s near Garden City College around dawn.
The victim, who had come from Andhra Pradesh, was carrying nearly 470 grams of gold ornaments, intended to be pledged for a loan to help her daughter. After the robbery, the gang regrouped at a local cemetery — a place they frequently used to divide stolen goods — only to panic upon discovering the high-value loot. Fearing discovery, they buried the gold in the cemetery and kept the mobile phone.
In an audacious attempt to access the woman’s UPI app, one of the boys simply entered “123456” — and it worked.
Swift Police Action Unravels the Crime
The woman lodged a complaint at KR Puram police station around 8 am the same day. A team led by Inspector Ramamurthy sprang into action, scanning footage from more than 30 CCTV cameras between the college and the cemetery. The breakthrough came when hotel staff recognized the first-year PU student in one of the clips — he was a regular customer.
Police detained him by evening, and his confession led them straight to the other three boys. The stolen mobile was recovered from the PU student, and the gang later took officers to the cemetery where the buried gold ornaments were dug up.
A Pattern of Weekly Crimes
Investigators revealed that the group had been operating for nearly a year, carrying out robberies once every week or two. “They typically struck between 2 am and 4 am, often after smoking ganja. Then they’d scout for lone pedestrians,” a police officer said. The crimes went unreported until the July 3 case brought them to light.
The scooter used during the robbery was also found to be stolen, and efforts are on to trace its original owner.
Neglected at Home, Lost to the Streets
All four teens come from low-income families, with parents working as daily wage labourers. While the families had enrolled their children in school and college despite financial hardship, the boys were left largely unsupervised. With little guidance or oversight, they gradually slipped into a routine of substance abuse and street crime.
Police have produced them before the Juvenile Justice Board and are investigating other possible offences linked to the group. Officers say the case is a grim reminder of how neglect, peer influence, and easy access to substances can steer even school-going children into a life of crime.
“Their case is not just about theft — it reflects deeper issues of social neglect and youth at risk,” said an officer. Authorities are now urging parents and schools to be more vigilant and involved in children’s lives to prevent similar paths being taken by other vulnerable minors.
