BENGALURU: In a rare case of theft reported in the city, a gang stole 830 kg of human hair worth nearly Rs 1 crore from a godown in a commercial building in Lakshmipura Cross, north Bengaluru, recently. Police have launched a manhunt for the gang.
Venkataswamy K, 73, a north Bengaluru resident and hair trader, shifted his godown from Hebbal to Lakshmipura Cross on Feb 12. According to Venkataswamy’s complaint with Soladevanahalli police, the godown was in the basement of a building and he had stored about 830kg of hair in 27 bags.
A gang of about six miscreants came to the godown in a SUV-Mahindra Bolero-past Feb 28 midnight. They broke the shutter of the godown using iron rods, carried out the hair bags, loaded them into the SUV, and sped away.
Venkataswamy said when the gang was loading the bags into the SUV, a local resident of the area saw them. They were talking in Telugu and instructing each other on how and where to place the bags. He assumed the bags belonged to them and went into his house.
However, a passerby suspected that the gang was stealing the hair, some of which was strewn all over the road. He alerted the helpline 112, shared the location details, and left. A Hoysala patrol police vehicle arrived at the spot, found the godown shutter half open and alerted other shop owners in the building. The news reached Venkataswamy by 1.50am.
“I rushed to the spot to find that the miscreants emptied the godown. We had stored over 830 kg of hair. Those bags were already checked and marked by the buyer,” Venkataswamy said. People in the hair business said the stolen hair was worth Rs 1 crore in the market.
From AP to China
Venkataswamy supplies hair to a Hyderabad businessman, who exports it to Burma, from where the commodity reaches China. After receiving the advance, he and his family members visit various districts in Andhra Pradesh like Kadapa and Srikakulam, to buy hair from people who collect it.
According to sources, a few places in India get high-quality hair. A significant number of people go door to door and buy hair from people by paying them around Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 per kg. Then they sell it to agents. The agents sell the hair to traders like Venkataswamy. Indian high quality hair is cheaper than that coming from other countries. Burma and China purchase the hair and make wigs. There is a huge demand for Indian hair in the global market.
Suspicion on people in biz
Lakshmipura, a nondescript locality between Hesaraghatta and Yelahanka, is teeming with hair traders. Venkataswamy fears someone in the business might have known about him renting the godown and storing a large quantity of hair might be behind the hair heist.
CCTV cameras installed in neighbouring buildings have captured the miscreants and the SUV. A police officer said the registration number of the vehicle is not captured and the quality of the footage is not good. “We registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 305 (theft in a dwelling house, or means of transportation or place of worship, etc) and 331 (punishment for house-trespass or housebreaking) and are making efforts to nab them,” he added.
