Bengaluru: A 27-year-old man attempting to steal a mobile phone from the bag of a commuter boarding a bus near Tin Factory was caught red-handed by the police.
The Ramamurthy Nagar police arrested R Vignesh, from Avalahalli of Bengaluru rural district. Unlike the criminals stealing to sell mobile phones, Vignesh mostly did it for sim cards.
An officer told DH that Vignesh stole mobiles and immediately plucked out sim cards. He then put it in a different mobile phone and transferred money.
The officer said: “He plugged the sim card into another phone and activated PhonePe and Google pay accounts registered with that number. Later he would change the passcode and transfer money to different persons and obtain money from them.”
The officer added that Vignesh was a poker game addict and used all the money to play poker games online.
Bengaluru city police commissioner, B Dayananda said it is a new modus that police had come across and hailed the efforts of the officers by stressing the case as an ‘interesting’ one.
The suspect allegedly targeted crowded places but carried out several thefts near Tin Factory bus stop. Police had formed a team and deployed two plain cloth officers near the bus stop to identify the thief.
Police have seized 38 mobile phones worth Rs 8 lakh from Vignesh.
Published 28 February 2024, 02:49 IST