Laptop theft: 26 arrested by Hubballi police

The Hubballi Police have arrested 26 persons including six employees of the Labour Department in connection with the theft of 101 laptops meant for distribution to students by the department and have recovered 83 laptops.

Addressing presspersons in Hubballi on Saturday, Hubballi Dharwad Police Commissioner N. Shashikumar said that following a complaint by the Assistant Commissioner of Labour about the theft of 101 laptop computers, they had taken up an investigation and nabbed the accused.

“The laptops were meant for the children of labourers of Haveri district and were worth ₹55 lakhs. During the investigation it was found that two personnel of the department namely Deepak Naik and Krishna Kabber were involved in the crime. Subsequent interrogation revealed the involvement of two second division assistants and four personnel working on a contract basis,” he said.

Mr. Shashikumar said that 101 laptops were stolen in a period of six months by gaining entry through the window of the office.

He said that initially the accused had stolen four laptops and sold them to gullible customers saying they were selling them at the direction of the Labour Department. Sixteen persons had been arrested on charges of encouraging the theft of the laptops, he said.

The Police Commissioner said that the team led by Old Hubballi Station police inspector Suresh Hullur had recovered 83 laptops, two autorickshaws, two motorcycles and one car that were used for the crime. To a query, he said that so far they had not found involvement of any senior official of the department in the crime.

Published - September 28, 2024 08:57 pm IST