Mangalore: Police Nab Inter-state Thieves from MP, Recover Items Worth Rs 13 Lac
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (DV)
Mangalore, Dec 14: Beltangady police have nabbed four inter-state thieves in connection with several thefts at jewellery stores in the district, said superintendent of police Abhishek Goyal, addressing a press meet here on Friday December 14. A dealer who bought the stolen items was also arrested.
The arrested are Amar Singh (28), Sardar Singh (20), Madan Singh (32), and Bavlia (50), residents of Madhya Pradesh belonging to Bhilala tribal community, and Vijay Soni, a dealer from the same state.
The accused were nabbed when the Beltangady police personnel were on the night beat near Sabarabailu near Sonadoor of Beltangady taluk. On spotting the police, the accused began to run, which raised suspicion of the police who chased them. Of the five, four were caught while one managed to escape.
Chilli powder and iron rods were recovered from the accused from the spot, indicating that they had planned to carry out an attack.
When the police interrogated them, they admitted that they had been involved in thefts at
V Suresh Baliga Jewellers, Bantwal, Anugraha Jewellers, Kinnigoli (under Mulky police station) in 2012, and Savitri Jewellers in Punjalkatte. They had also attempted a theft at Hiriyadka near Perdoor.
On examining the CCTV footages collected from the toll gate near Panemangalore bridge, Dharmasthala and from the jewellery stores, the identities of the thieves were confirmed.
During the interrogation it was also learnt that they had sold the stolen silver articles and ornaments to Vijay Soni of Alirajpur in Madhya Pradesh. Under the direction of the SP, the police team was sent to Dhar, Indore and Alirajpur where the stolen silver articles weighing 10 kg were recovered. Vijay Soni who had bought the stolen silver was also arrested.
The SP said that police could not easily enter Alirajpur because a politician and villagers defended and supported the thieves. With the help of Madhya Pradesh police, Soni was held.
Interestingly, bows and arrows were seized from them, which established that they were basically from a tribal community, the SP said.
Altogether, the police have recovered silver articles and other items worth Rs 13 lac. The accused also stole gold ornaments, but they could not be recovered.
The accused had hired a vehicle and possessed lock breaking instruments. They would spy in the morning and at night carry out the thefts, Goyal said.
The SP also said the four belong to a gang of 15 inter-state thieves who have been operating in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Kolkata, Andra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Two other gang members, Ussan, Mohan Singh and Madiya Bhuriya had been arrested on October 4 this year and silver articles worth Rs 1,00,000 were recovered.
Punjalkatte police personnel Devappa, Lawrence, Abdul Lathif, Ibrahim, Praveen, Venkappa, Shivananda and Bharathi, Belthangady police personnel Praveen, Harish and Savitha, Venoor police personnel Tharanath, Kanakaraj and Rohinath, and Bantwal town station personnel Krishna, Ramesh, B N Bidki and Mohammed Asif took part in the operation.
Belthangady circle inspector Bhaskar Rai was present at the press meet.