Last Updated:February 18, 2026, 12:50 IST The house belonged to Jagadish, a software engineer, who had locked the house and left the key in the shoe rack so his children could enter after school, a routine practice. Inside, he opened cupboards and stole 348 grams of gold jewellery before leaving the premises unnoticed. Image: Canva “I was house-hunting in the area. I saw a ‘To-Let’ board before a building and waked into enquire.” What followed this thought inside Kiran’s head turned into a suspense and shocking story of theft. Temptation arrived quietly, tucked inside a shoe rack outside an apartment door in Bengaluru’s Nagondanahalli. What appeared to be an ordinary afternoon errand for a struggling photographer soon spiralled into a theft case worth Rs 55 lakh, exposing how everyday convenience can open the door to serious crime. Chance discovery leads to theft On February 11, 2026, Kiran, a resident of Varthur Kodi and a freelance event photographer, entered an apartment building after noticing a “To Let” board. Once a photo studio owner, he had suffered …