Stolen 1980 Olympic gold, 7 medals of hockey star Somaya recovered; 2 held

Eight sporting medals, including a 1980 Moscow Olympic gold medal, stolen last month from the residence of former hockey player MM Somaya in east Bengaluru’s New Thippasandra, have been recovered, the city police said on Wednesday, announcing the arrest of two suspects.

Police have identified the two suspects as Manikya alias Manikanta, 31, and Bharat, 25. Police arrested them near Hagalahalli Cross in Ramanagara on Monday and produced them before a court on Tuesday. They have been remanded in police custody for eight days.

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Somaya thanked the police for recovering the medals and other belongings. “I feel like I have won the medals all over again,” he said.

A third person, their accomplice, is still on the run, police said.

Investigators have also retrieved a traditional Kodava dagger, a camera, an Olympic kit bag and seized the two-wheeler allegedly used in the burglary.

The suspects broke into Somaya’s house in late October while the family was away in Kodagu and were unaware of the significance of the cluster of metallic prizes they picked up as they swept up cash and jewellery worth ₹3.5 lakh.

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Police said the suspects sold a gold medal and a silver medal to a firm in Rajajinagar.

“This was one of the most challenging cases for us because we did not have any clues. We finally managed to detect the case and recover the stolen articles. The two accused have been involved in similar crimes earlier. We will ensure that they do not repeat such acts,” police commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said, announcing a ₹1 lakh reward for the police.

Singh said police recovered two medals from the firm, while the other six were found at one suspect’s Hoskote house.

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Apart from the gold medal, the country’s last Olympic gold in its national sport, the recoveries included a silver from the 1982 Asian Games, a bronze from the 1986 Seoul Asian Games, a bronze from the 1982 Champions Trophy in Amsterdam and a gold from the Loiano tournament in Italy. Participation medals from the 1984 Los Angeles and 1988 Seoul Olympics and a silver medal commemorating the 300th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh were also recovered.

Police said Manikanta, a labourer, faces 25 criminal cases in Karnataka and 8 more in Tamil Nadu. He was classified as an absconder by courts in three cases and had six non-bailable warrants against him. His accomplice, Bharat, faces two criminal cases.