JOIN USThe West division police have recovered 1.7 kg of gold chains worth Rs 30 lakh by arresting two men from Uttar Pradesh who were allegedly involved in 22 cases of chain snatching.
The arrested are Vicky Singh, 33 and Vishal Singh, 23, both residents of Fatehabad in Agra district.
The duo had visited the City more than seven times during the last one year and robbed lone women and elderly persons of their gold chains in Jnanabharathi, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Banaswadi, Indiranagar, K R Puram, Vivekanagar, Chandra Layout, Hennur, Jayanagar and Vijayanagar areas, the police said.
They are part of the gang which was involved in several chain snatchings a year ago. The Madiwala police had arrested the gang members in September last but Vicky and Vishal had managed to escape, the police said.
The two would arrive in the the City by air and stay in posh hotels. They were using a stolen Maharashtra-registered bike for committing crimes. They would consume liquor and start their operation after 6 pm. They trailed lone women, robbed them and returned to the hotel. They would stay in the City for three to four days during their each visit, park the bike at the KSRTC parking lot and return to Agra, said the police.
They would pledge the gold chains in Agra and come back to Bangalore after some time. Vicky is married with five children and dropped out of Class IX. Vishal is a BCom dropout. They are friends of Naresh, who has a sister in Bangalore.
Naresh knew Bangalore’s topography very well and was involved in a couple of chain snatchings, police claimed. Vicky and Vishal committed offences only in Bangalore with Naresh’s help, the police said.
CCTV cameras
The West division police constituted a special team headed by Jnanabharathi police inspector B Balaraj. “We had information that the suspects used some bikes from parking lots.
We installed CCTV cameras at important parking lots. We got to know that a pulsar bike was parked for more than one month at the KSRTC parking lot. When we checked, we learnt about their mode of operation. Two constables waited at the parking lot for 15 days to nab the duo,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) DC Rajappa told Deccan Herald.
Cops tailed them
The two came to Bangalore on June 4 and took away the bike. The constables followed them wherever they went. They were arrested when they came to park the bike at KSRTC parking lot, he added. They had hidden some of the gold chains in the ceiling fans at a few hotels.
The police recovered the chains and contacted their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh. A police team went to Uttar Pradesh and recovered all the gold chains the duo had pledged there, added the police. It is one of the largest recoveries by the Bangalore police, claimed Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Kamal Panth.