Fetish for high-end cars does him in

Gowda would later direct the drivers to take the cars to desolate areas and ask them to get down before fleeing away with the vehicles.

Sometimes, he would ask the drivers to park the cars outside resorts. He would go in with drivers and tell them that his higher ups were calling and that he would be back within minutes only to disappear with the car.

The modus operandi worked well for 23-year-old Mahesh alias Mahesh Gowda (23) of Tumkur, until Basavanagudi police caught him while “on duty” on NICE road recently. Two cars worth Rs 17 lakh have been recovered from him. The police are yet gathering information from Mahesh.

Purloined bus recovered

In another incident, the police arrested a former bus driver of SRS Travels and recovered a bus worth Rs eight lakh which he had purloined. The suspect was identified as Anil Kumar (32) from T Dasarahalli.

After quitting the job, Anil had started his own travel agency. He had nicked the bus from SLV Corner on Kanakapura Road in Basavanagudi on May 5, 2009, with the help of his two associates, both former drivers of the same travel agency. He was using the vehicle for his travel agency business. Anil had left the bus for repair at a garage in Kasaragod, but did not take back as he was in financial crunch to clear the bill. Based on the information provided by him, the police recovered the bus from the garage. Two of his associates are still at large, police said.