The police on Friday announced the arrest of two men in connection with a gold chain theft case, which helped them unravel a notorious modus operandi targeting married women.The accused have been identified as Santhosh, 34, and Punit Kumar, 24, residents of Davangere. The case came to light after a woman, a resident of Gollarahatti in north Bengaluru, approached the Yeshwantpur police on July 12 and lodged a complaint. Later, the police found that the accused were involved in three more cases.According to the police, Santhosh used to create fake social media accounts and befriend married women. The accused would allegedly pose as a film producer and concoct a story that he was connected to influential people.“He would continue conversations with gullible women and then invite them for dinner. Santhosh would tell the women that his assistant would pick them up and send Kumar,” an investigating officer said.“By the time Kumar reached the location, Santhosh would instruct the women to remove their mangal sutras and keep them in their bags,” he added.The officer added that Kumar would take the women to a lodge and tell them that Santhosh would visit them in sometime. Meanwhile, he would steal the gold chains from their bags and flee from the scene.In a similar incident, the victim from Gollarahatti was cheated by the accused. The police arrested the duo near the KSRTC Bus Station in Majestic last month.During interrogation, the two allegedly revealed their involvement in other similar thefts. The accused reportedly told the police that the stolen gold chains had been kept at a jewellery shop in Davangere and at a lodge in Sumanahalli, where they had been staying. Based on the information, the police recovered a gold ingot from the jewellery shop and a gold chain from the lodge.The police said they recovered 130 gms of gold and a mobile phone, together valued at ₹19 lakh.The arrest has led to the detection of cases booked at Yeshwantpur, Kengeri, and Kamakshipalya police stations. The accused are currently in judicial custody. Published - September 04, 2026 07:11 pm IST