Inter-state gang held, valuables worth Rs 35.50 lakh recovered

CCB arrests five accused of luggage lifting; jewellers main target

The City Crime Branch (CCB) police personnel have arrested a  gang of five inter-state thieves from the city and have busted a luggage lifting racket. As much as 1.294 kg of gold valuables, worth Rs 35.50 lakh, have been recovered from them.

Akbar Khan alias Akbar, 40, a resident of Bannimantap; Farzu, 42, from Shanthinagar; Akram, 44, from Shanthinagar; Mohammed Azeez alias M D Azeez, 53, from Rajivnagar; and Mutheeb Ahmed, 46, from K N Pura Layout are the accused. They were arrested on April 5.

The gang was adept at lifting luggage bags containing gold valuables in transit, from both KSRTC and private buses. The valuables belonged to jewellers in Mysuru and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and the traders were transporting their goods in buses.

While 44 grams of gold was lifted in Lashkar police limits here, remaining 1,250 grams of gold valuables were lifted in Chilakaluripet police limits in Andhra Pradesh, several months ago.

The case reported in Lashkar station was handed over to the CCB, who succeeded in nabbing the gang, after a detailed investigation. Following the arrest, the investigators cracked a similar case reported in Andhra Pradesh.

ACP (CCB) C Gopal told Deccan Herald, the modus operandi of the gang was to stalk people with luggage bags at transit points and would sometimes travel to different places, trailing people with valuables and cash. Jewellers who transport goods like any other normal people in buses, just to avoid being vulnerable to thieves, were their main target. In the given cases, they had made away with luggage bags from traders, during commotion on board. Two of their accomplices are still at large, the officer said.

They were in the process of disposing the booty, when the police personnel reached them. They have also spilled the beans about robbing two persons in separate cases of Rs 2 lakh and Rs 1.80 lakh cash. The details of which are yet to be known.

The Andhra police, who had come down to the city recently, have collected information from them. They are expected to come back again, seeking their custody. Currently, the accused are remanded in judicial custody here.

The gang, earlier into pickpocket, started to target big, and it is also for the first time they were arrested in the particular case.

The police team consisted of Inspector K C Prakash, PSIs M J Jayasheelan and H Ramesh, according to Police Commissioner B Dayananda.