Published Nov 11, 2026 | 6:06 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 11, 2026 | 6:06 PM
Somaya was a member of India squad that won the gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. (Courtesy: Hockey India)
Synopsis: Bengaluru Police have recovered former India hockey captain MM Somaya’s 1980 Moscow Olympics gold medal, seven other medals and all valuables stolen from his New Thippasandra home on 28 October. Two accused have been arrested while a third remains absconding.
The Bengaluru Police have recovered the 1980 Moscow Olympics gold medal won by former India hockey captain MM Somaya, along with seven other stolen medals and all the other valuables stolen from his house in New Thippasandra on 28 October.
Two accused have been arrested in connection with the burglary following a 15-day investigation involving around 85 police personnel. Both have criminal antecedents. One faces 33 cases of theft and burglary, while the other has also been accused of murder, Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said.
The police are searching for a third accused who remains absconding.
“I was feeling as though I won the Olympic medal once again. We played an amateur game back then; there was not much monetary benefit when we played hockey for the country. These were the medals of honour, and they carry a lot of special memories,” Somaya said.
The recovered medals include Somaya’s silver medal from the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi, bronze medal from the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul and bronze medal from the 1982 Champions Trophy in Amsterdam.
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Somaya and his family were away in Kodagu when burglars broke into his house in HAL 3rd Stage, New Thippasandra, under the Indiranagar police station limits.
CCTV footage from a neighbour’s house showed two unidentified men breaking open the front door and entering the residence at 2.34 am. The burglary came to light around 7.15 am, when the neighbour, Narayanan, noticed that the door was open and alerted Somaya.
Besides the four international medals, the burglars had taken a 10-gram gold bangle, an eight-gram gold coin, two silver cups weighing 144 grams, six silver spoons, an 80-gram silver pot and ₹30 lakh in cash. The stolen valuables were worth ₹3.5 lakh. The police have recovered all of them.
The Indiranagar police registered a case under Sections 331(4) (house-trespass or house-breaking) and 305 (theft in a dwelling house) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
(Edited by Dese Gowda with inputs from Varsha Gowda)
