The Mangaluru City Police on Thursday arrested three of 16 persons allegedly involved in robbing a jeweller from Kerala of 180 grams of gold ornaments after abducting his wife and son on June 29 on National Highway 66, between Surathkal and Baikampady.Police identified the arrested persons as R.K. Nimil, 37, from Pathiriyad village in Kannur district of Kerala, accused of being directly involved in the crime; Irshad, 40, of Hakathur village of Kodagu; and Musthafa, 49, of Madikeri, accused of helping and sheltering the main accused persons.In a press note, police said around seven persons came in three vehicles and waylaid the car of the jeweller, Vikas Subbarao Dhanawade, 44, around 2.45 a.m. on June 29 in Baikampady. He was travelling with his wife and son to Payyanur, where he did business.The accused allegedly dragged Dhanawade out of the car and assaulted him before driving away with the vehicle, with his wife and son seated inside. They abandoned the two at Kulur and fled with a bag containing 180 grams of gold ornaments and two mobile phones.The Panambur police registered a complaint filed by Dhanawade and began the probe.Seats tornPolice traced the jeweller’s car to Pachhinadka in Bantwal taluk on June 30, with torn seat covers indicating that the accused had searched for hidden gold.A team led by Panambur police inspector Saleem Abbas secured Nimil from Chala in Kannur district on July 2. The same day, another team led by Sub-Inspector Jnanshekar secured Irshad from Ponnampet in Kodagu district. Musthafa, accused of providing a vehicle to the main accused, was also arrested.In search of huge quantityPolice said 14 of the 16 accused were directly involved in the robbery. A person reportedly tipped off the accused that Dhanawade was carrying a huge quantity of gold from Mumbai to Payyanur. The accused kept a close watch on his movement from Mumbai and waylaid the car in the hope of getting a big haul of jewellery.The police have also traced one of the four cars used by the accused. Assistant Commissioners of Police K. Srikanth and Manoj Kumar Naika led the probe teams. A jurisdictional court remanded the arrested accused in 10 days’ police custody on Friday. Published - July 03, 2026 08:06 pm IST