Three minors among five held over 26 phone thefts

Five suspected mobile phone snatchers, three of them juveniles, have been arrested by Nandini Layout police. Twenty-six phones stolen by the gang snatched from people have also been seized.

Some of those mobile phones were stolen from lorry drivers and cleaners who slept in their vehicles after parking them by the side of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) in the city.

A police team nabbed Akash, 21, Kemparaju, 25, and the three juveniles while investigating the snatching of a mobile phone of 20-year-old Kumar S, a resident of Muneshwara Layout in Laggere, on June 14. All the accused are residents of Laggere.

Kumar, who works in films, was walking home after shooting and talking on the phone when two bike-borne men snatched the phone from behind and sped off around 3.15 pm at Seenappa Garden. Police tracked the IMEI number and traced the gang with the help of a person using the device.

Besides the phones, police have also seized 20 grams of gold jewellery and the bike used in the thefts. Kemparaju had earlier been involved in two attempted murders, two auto and bike thefts. He had been out on bail. The gang is also involved in house thefts, police said.

Police have found two cases with their arrest and are continuing the investigation to locate the owners of the mobile phones. While the gang had sold eight of the stolen phones for a small amount, the rest were found in their possession.