Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Oct 21: Two members of Irani gang, who came to visit the city from Mumbai by flight and return after snatching away a few golden chains from gullible people only to resurface in the city for another round of thefts, have been arrested by Jalahalli police here.

The arrested men happen to be Asif Rehamat Khan (36) and Hasmukh Phukraj Surana (46), both from Mumbai. They usually arrived by flights, stayed in lodges, and stole motor bikes parked in parking slots. They then roamed around in streets having less crowd by using stolen bikes, and snatched away chains from the necks of women found roaming alone.

They told the police that they used flights instead of taking the road route as they were afraid of being caught. They sold the chains so stolen and led a luxurious life. Once the money was exhausted, they used to fly to the city again in search of lone women with golden chains around their necks. Normally, they stayed for four to five days during each of their visits, police personnel stated.

On September 13, the accused had stolen the Mangalya chain worn by a woman walking at Sundaranagara in Gokulam here. The police who were investigating this case found that the motor bike in question was captured by CCTV camera there. When they investigated on the basis of the registration number of the vehicle, they found that the bike was already sold to someone, who was yet to register the vehicle in his name. They got the cellphone number of the person who had bought the bike, and found the accused. The police said that the thieves had bought this second hand motor bike for facilitating thefts, but were yet to transfer the vehicle in their names.