First He Stole, Then He Was Stolen, Then He Stole Again: Bengaluru Plot Twist

Only in Bengaluru can a thief pull off a burglary, head home feeling victorious, and then get robbed himself near a crematorium. That is exactly how this bizarre chain of events began for Ishay Raj, a 30

year old repeat offender from Amrutahalli.

On November 22, he broke into a locked home in Mandur and walked out with about 330 grams of gold and Rs 25,000 in cash. He left the stolen scooter he had used parked nearby, planning a clean getaway. For a moment, he probably felt the universe was on his side.

Then came the plot twist.

When Karma Said ‘Try Again’

As Raj was passing a cemetery on his way out, four young men stopped him. They questioned him, spotted the stash, and promptly robbed him of everything he had just stolen. It was crime eating crime in real time. After stripping him of the gold and cash, the group casually handed him Rs 3,000 for his troubles and told him to leave.

Most people would take the money, head home, rethink their life choices, maybe even thank their lucky stars. Raj, however, decided the opposite. Returning home empty handed felt like inviting bad luck. So instead of calling it a night, he went hunting for another target.

A Crime Spree To Beat “Bad Luck”

Barely a kilometre away, Raj slipped into two more houses. This time, he managed to steal 120 grams of gold and about Rs 1.5 lakh in cash across the two break ins. In the space of a few hours, he had been a thief, a victim, and a thief again. If Bengaluru had a contest for strangest logic of the year, Raj’s reasoning would be a strong contender.

By the next day, the homeowners discovered the break ins and filed complaints. Police teams from Avalahalli fanned out, collected CCTV clips, and tracked his movements. The footage showed him repeatedly circling the area, returning to the crematorium stretch, and riding the scooter that had been reported stolen earlier.

The Chase That Followed

As the clues lined up, police traced Raj’s escape route all the way from Bengaluru to Erode in Tamil Nadu. He did not get far. Officers arrested him and recovered 110 grams of gold and Rs 28,000 that he still had on him. The rest had either been lost in the first robbery or had moved hands by then.

Meanwhile, the four young men who robbed him also landed in custody. The police identified them as Mounesh Rao, Darshan alias Pappu, Chandan, and Sunil Kumar. All were Mandur residents in their twenties with no previous criminal history. They seemed almost as surprised as anyone else to find themselves central characters in a thief robs thief drama.

A Tale Bengaluru Will Retell For Years

Raj reportedly told police that he committed the second set of burglaries because he believed going home empty handed after being robbed would bring bad luck. His explanation did not carry much weight in the investigation, but it did help officers piece together the timeline after the other group confirmed parts of his story.

The entire episode reads like a screenplay no writer would dare pitch. A thief robbed near a cemetery. A compensation of Rs 3,000 from the robbers. A frantic crime spree to reverse imaginary bad luck. And finally, the police arresting every character involved, each playing an accidental part in a very Bengaluru story.

In the end, the city is left with a tale that sits somewhere between comedy, karma, and caution. Crime does not pay, but sometimes it refuses to stop trying. And somewhere in Mandur, four young men probably have a story they will be retelling for decades.