Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (JS)
Mangaluru, Oct 6: The police have succeeded in nabbing five members of a gang who robbed a man of Rs 4.10 lac at gunpoint on the night of Monday October 5. The alert police arrested the gang within an hour of the robbery.
The arrested are Sujith Bhandary, Shreyansh Jain and Amalraj, all from Suratkal, and Manjunath Nageshappa from Ballari.
Addressing a press meet here on Tuesday October 6, SP Sharanappa said that at around 8.15 pm on Monday, a person identified as Subhashchandra Nayak locked his shop at Vittal and left for home in his car, taking with him an amount of Rs 4.10 lac his business had earned.
He kept the cash in a black bag, which he placed on the passenger seat of his car. When he reached the turning near Vittal government hospital, a white Tata Sumo with five people inside came in his way and stopped him. One of them brandished a gun (later found to be fake) at Nayak and accused of him ramming into their car.
The man pointed his gun at Nayak's chest while the others in the Sumo got out, opened Nayak's car and took away the bag containing the cash. They then fled from the spot.
Nayak immediately informed the Vittal police, who swung into action and contacted the district police control room. On receiving information, the Bantwal rural police chased the white Sumo.
Meanwhile, the control room alerted all the police stations. The Ullal and Konaje police teams, led by SI Bharati and SI Sudhakar intercepted the Sumo at Konaje and arrested the gang. They recovered all the cash robbed from Nayak, and also seized the Sumo, a fake gun and mobile phones from the accused.
Sharanappa said that the accused had used a fake gun to intimidate Nayak, and that Shreyansh had borrowed the Sumo from someone, after which the gang changed its number plate. They conducted a recce of the vicinity on the night of Sunday October 4, and went ahead with their plan on Tuesday night. The SP said that the accused had been planning to rob Nayak from the last four months, but were not confident of carrying out their plan. The idea of robbing Nayak was given to the accused by someone else, the SP said, but did not reveal his name.
The SP praised the team work and alertness of the police personnel involved in the operation. He also presented them with appreciation certificates and suitable rewards.