Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Dec 16: Five notorious criminals, who had recently threatened and abducted a youth and robbed his belongings, were arrested by Suratkal police on Tuesday December 15. The accused were produced in the court, whereupon they were remanded to judicial custody.

Khader Safa (19) from Moodbidri Ponnacheri, Ahmed Hussain (19) from Jyotinagara Moodbidri, Mohammed Samsher (30) from Panjimogaru, Syed Afridi (19), a resident of Marakada, and Muhammed Muksin (19) from Devinagara, Kunjathbail here, were arrested for the above crime. The police have confiscated cellphones, camera, and two vehicles from the arrested persons.

The victim, a student of Srinivasa College at Mukka, had advertised in an online site, about the availability of cellphone worth Rs 32,000 for sale. The accused had responded to this advertisement, got in contact with the student over cellphone, invited him to a spot in the outskirts of the city, abducted him on his arrival, and let him go after robbing him of his cellphone and other belongings, it is said. Having been duped in this manner, the student had filed police complaint.

It is learnt that this gang had also abducted a student from Vamanjoor here after he advertised about sale of second hand cellphone worth around Rs 52,000 sometime back, and snatched away his cellphone. It is said that the accused regularly kept an eye on advertisements appearing in OLX.com, and then got in contact with the advertisers. Several college girls reportedly were duped by them in this manner. They usually abducted people on their arrival at the suggested spot in their car, and relieved them of their belongings forcibly in moving car.

The arrest was made by a police team led by Suratkal deputy police commissioner, Madan Gaonkar and Suratkal station house officer, B Manjunath, sub-inspector, Kumareshan and other staff members, under the direct instructions of city police commissioner and deputy commissioner.