'Chor-Police' with Two Wives, Three Girlfriends and Plenty of Gold
Bangalore, Aug 22 (Bangalore Mirror): Venkataramanappa may be a seventh standard dropout but let it not be said that he was inattentive in class. In fact, it was in his school at Malur that he learnt the art of cheating. One chapter told the story of a thief who disguised himself as a cop and cheated people. The story had such a powerful impact on him that he decided to follow in the character’s footsteps.
Venkataramanappa alias Police Venkataramanappa (45) carried out his first con job when he was 18 and after that, there was no stopping him till City Crime Branch caught up with him in Kolar and put him behind bars.
Police, who seized gold ornaments weighing more than one kg, say he has cheated more than 100 gullible people in Bangalore alone.
In his cheating career of 27 years, he has been arrested only twice. This is his third stint in jail.
Modus operandi
His modus operandi was simple. He worked alone and got around on a bike (stolen, of course, from Kanakapura). He would dress up as a policeman, complete with a police helmet and shoes, and wear a mufti shirt over the uniform.
He would then approach an old woman walking alone on streets and identify himself as a police constable from the local police station.
He would start with a namaste and go on to question her about her children and grandchildren. After getting to know their names, he would say that her son (or grandson) had been caught by the police in a robbery case.
“He would tell her he could help if she gave back gold ornaments of the same weight to the police, and that he would talk to his seniors and get the relative released,” said R Nagaraj, assistant commissioner of police (homicide & burglary squad), CCB.
He would be so convincing that the lady would hand over all her gold ornaments. He would promise to be back with her son in 30 minutes, but for the poor lady, it was the beginning of a never-ending wait.
His most recent victim was Lakshmi of K R Puram, Nagaraj added.
Two wives, three girlfriends
Venkataramanappa also has a weakness for women. He has two children from his first wife who has left him. He has a daughter with his second wife who lives in Mulbagal, Kolar, where he has a poultry farm.
He also has three girlfriends – in Mandya, Mysore and Kolar. After cheating people, he would visit a girlfriend and use her to pledge or sell the gold. He would spend a few days with her, rewarding her by splurging money on her.
After a few days of lying low, he would shift to another city and look out for his next aged victim walking a lonely street.
Police are now looking at cases from different police stations of the state. They say he has cases in Bangalore, Mysore, Mandya, Kolar, Bangalore.