Rajaram, 38, a pawn broker who posed as a security agency chief and committed a series of house thefts along with his associates, has been nabbed by the Magadi Road police.
His aides, Hemaraj, 27, a resident of Chowdeshwarinagar, and Nagesh, 30, of Sunkadakatte, were also arrested, and stolen properties, including ornaments and electronic gadgets worth Rs 40 lakh, were recovered.
Rajaram had inserted his picture in photographs where police commissioner, additional commissioners, deputy commissioners and other senior officers were present, to convey to the public that he was an influential man in the police department. He had also inserted his picture in uniform in a photograph taken at the Bangalore City Commissioner’s chamber when Raghavendra H Auradkar took over charge from B G Jyothiprakash Mirji. Besides, he had taken pictures of himself posing on two-wheelers of the police department, City Police Commissioner B G Jyothiprakash Mirji told reporters on Saturday.
A special team had been formed to arrest the gang, following a spate of house thefts in the West Division. The trio had come to Cholurpalya in Vijayanagar and their suspicious movements caught the police’s attention. While the trio were caught, two others managed to give the slip. The trio admitted to the thefts during interrogation, Mirji added.
Rajaram, Hemaraj, Nagesh and two others, Kantharaj and Ramesh, committed thefts at Magadi Road, Rajagopalnagar, Kamakshipalya, Peenya, Tavarekere, Kengeri, Vijayanagar, Basaveshwarnagar, Jnanabharathi, Byatarayanapura and Hanumanthnagar areas in the last three months. Kantharaj and Ramesh are at large, police said. The gang would do a recce of the said areas during the day, identify locked houses and commit thefts at night. Two of them acted as lookouts, while two others broke open door locks and stole valuables. They would steal only ornaments as it was easy to dispose them, since Rajaram owned a pawnbroking shop. They would take away electronic goods if they failed to trace ornaments, police said.
A resident of Rajagopalnagar, Rajaram was a native of Marwar Junction, Pali District, Rajasthan. He wanted to make a quick buck and plotted thefts along with other suspects. He opened a security agency near his house, naming it Bharath Security Force and displayed his morphed photographs, posing with senior police officers, Mirji said. He came to Bangalore along with his brother Devaram two decades ago and was employed at a jewellery shop. He parted ways with his brother and started his own jewellery shop.
Nagesh, a native of Topaiahanapalya in Magadi taluk, settled in Bangalore five years and was driving an autorickshaw for livelihood. Hemaraj from Aramane Vanamachanahalli in Kunigal taluk worked as a cook. Nagesh and Hemaraj are relatives. They took to crime three years ago and pledged the stolen ornaments with Rajaram, who realised their criminal background after they repeatedly mortgaged stolen ornaments, the police said.
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