Prize catch: 57 two-wheelers worth `21.13 lakh recovered

In a major haul in the recent past, city police have cracked 57 cases of two-wheeler thefts and have recovered equal number of vehicles, majority among them motorcycles, worth Rs 21.13 lakh. Seven habitual offenders have been arrested in this regard.

Addressing the media at his office on Saturday, Police Commissioner M A Saleem said, it had been the combined effort of Devaraja, Mandi and N R police that bore fruits, resulting in the arrest of three different gangs who were on the prowl.

Devaraja police arrested a gang of four and recovered 39 two-wheelers worth Rs 15 lakh, by arresting a four member gang.

The accused are - Raghu, aged 31 years, Praveen alias ‘Petrol’, 20, Girish, 28, and Swamy, 22, all hailing from different villages in K R Pet taluk in Mandya district.

The four had lifted nine vehicles in Hassan Extension police limits, followed by eight in Hassan town limits, five in Channarayapatna, four each in K R Pet and K R Nagar, two each in Bangalore city and Devaraja (Mysore), one each in Arsikere, Nagamangala, Bellur, Mandya west, and Pandavapura.

With regard to the case in Mandi police limits, the offender was a lone lifter who had decamped with eight two-wheelers worth Rs 3.35 lakh. Kutubuddin alias Khuddu, 26, Bannur in T Narsipur taluk, Mysore district is the accused.

Barring one case in Bannur police limits, he was wanted in seven cases registered in Udayagiri (four cases), N R( two) and Saraswatipuram (one) police limits.

N R police have arrested two vehicle lifters and have recovered 10 vehicles worth Rs 2.78 lakh, all lifted from four police stations limits in the city.

The accused are Hifzulla Khan, 28, Kailaspuram and Mir Shamshuddin, 21, C V road, both from Mandi Mohalla here.

Commissioner Saleem said, the modus operandi among them was common -- using duplicate keys to lift the two-wheelers and selling the same for a song in rural parts.

Unlike other crimes, cases of vehicle thefts had turned into a head ache in the recent past with 107 cases reported in the first four months of the year (2014).