A rat became an unlikely jewel thief after CCTV footage caught it dragging away gold and diamond ornaments worth Rs 10 lakh from a jewellery shop in Tumakuru, about 60km north of Bengaluru.
Staff at Vishwas Jewellery first noticed roughly 10 rings missing during their routine daily count of stock, initially suspecting a human theft since the shop’s shutters showed no signs of forced entry.
The shop owner, identified as Vishwas, said staff reviewed the CCTV footage and were stunned to spot a rat picking up a gold ring and carrying it away, prompting them to trace the rodent’s movements.
Tracking the rat led staff to its burrow, where they dug up nearly 10 rings, three gold chains, and several pieces of diamond-studded jewellery, together weighing more than 50 grams and valued at around Rs 10 lakh.
The video of the recovery has since gone viral on social media, with users likening the incident to a scene from a comedy film and marvelling at the rodent’s apparent taste for fine jewellery.
No police complaint details were mentioned in reports of the incident, with the shop instead able to recover the missing items directly once the rat’s hiding spot was located.
Videos of the CCTV footage have circulated widely on social media, with users comparing the incident to a scene from a comedy film and joking about the rat’s taste for fine jewellery.
Rats are known to drag small, shiny objects back to their burrows, a behaviour attributed to their instinct to hoard items alongside food, though jewellery theft on this scale is rarely documented on camera.
Tumakuru, located about 60km north of Bengaluru, is a district headquarters town in Karnataka known for its coconut trade and, more recently, its growing role as an industrial corridor near the state capital.
Jewellery store owners across the region have reportedly begun reviewing pest control measures after the incident drew widespread attention on social media.
Photo by Nnr2025, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
