DHNS :A cab driver, addicted to the card game of Rummy, has landed in jail after stealing tender coconuts to pay off his gambling debts.
The accused, 24-year-old Mohan, had first sold tender coconuts before taking to cab driving. He had become addicted to gambling with the card game and his debts mounted.
Police said that Mohan even attached his car with a ride-hailing company to earn more. But he failed to make enough money to repay his debts. He soon started going back to selling coconuts. But this time, he stole them from roadside vendors at night, transported them in his car to avoid suspicion and sold to other sellers in the city.
Based on a complaint filed by a vendor from Ittamadu, Girinagar police examined CCTV footage of the area, zeroed in on Mohan and swiftly arrested him.
Mohan was confident he would not be caught if he stole tender coconuts in smaller batches because the vendor would neither realise nor bother to file a police complaint.
"He took care to steal only 200 to 300 tender coconuts from a vendor so he would not get caught. He moved around in his car and stole coconuts from footpath stalls," a police officer close to the investigation said.
But things changed when he became greedy and stole nearly 1,100 tender coconuts from a single vendor on November 6. Police managed to recover 100 coconuts from him. His car has also been seized.
Mohan is originally from Tamil Nadu and lives in Madiwala, South Bengaluru. For now, only the Girinagar police have received a complaint against him.
Published 22 November 2023, 21:13 IST