Olympic gold medal stolen! Burglars break into hockey legend MM Somaya's Bengaluru home

Bengaluru: An Olympic gold medal, three other international sporting honours and several valuables have been stolen from the residence of former Indian hockey player M M Somaya in Bengaluru.

The burglary took place while the 67-year-old sporting legend was away on a family trip to Kodagu, police said on Wednesday.

The stolen collection included the gold medal Somaya won as a member of the Indian hockey team at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, making the theft particularly significant.

The thieves also took medals from three other major international tournaments, along with gold ornaments, silver articles and cash, from his house.

According to the police, the incident occurred on October 28 at HAL 3rd Stage, within the jurisdiction of Bengaluru's Indiranagar police station.

The break-in was discovered after a neighbour noticed that the door of Somaya's residence had been left open and alerted him, suspecting a burglary.

The First Information Report (FIR) states that CCTV footage from the neighbour's residence subsequently revealed the movements of two unidentified persons inside Somaya's house at around 2.34 am on October 28.

One suspect reportedly wore a blue shirt, while the other wore red. The duo allegedly forced open the door, entered the residence, and made off with the valuables.

Apart from the Olympic gold, the stolen sporting memorabilia included a silver medal from the 1982 New Delhi Asian Games, a bronze medal from the 1986 Seoul Asian Games and another bronze medal from the 1982 Champions Trophy held in Amsterdam.

Several silver articles, gold ornaments and Rs 30,000 in cash were also reported missing. The FIR estimates the total value of the stolen property at Rs 3.53 lakh.

Following Somaya's complaint, the Indiranagar police registered a case under Sections 331(4), relating to house-trespass or house-breaking, and 305, concerning theft in a dwelling house, of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Police said special teams have been constituted to identify and apprehend the suspects.