Daijiworld Media Network - Karkala (SP)

Karkala, Aug 18: Two persons, reportedly members of a gang of thieves, were chased and caught by alert locals and handed over to police on Monday August 17 evening. One of the accused was caught after the car in which he was trying to escape met with an accident at Halekatte here.

The car, a red-coloured Maruti Swift car, had been found parked under suspicious circumstances on Monday evening at Kalatrapade in Miyyar village. When some locals went closer to the car to check, the car driver, who was alone in the car, turned panicky and sped away. While some people chased the car, others conveyed information to their contacts at Miyyar, Sanoor, and other places over cell phones. The car moved fast through Beluvai, Sanoor, Bypass and Nitte for about 30 km before slipping out of the road and overturning at Halekatte in Mavinakatte.

It is said that the driver, in an effort to avoid hitting a motor bike that had been deliberately placed across the road, lost control and the car plunged into the roadside agricultural field. It was found that a tyre of the car had been punctured, but the driver had continued to drive the vehicle in that state for a considerable distance. The locals then caught hold of the driver and handed him over to the police.

Meanwhile, after the car left Kalatrapade, an unidentified person was found loitering in the area in a suspicious manner. The locals apprehended him and tied him up to a tree. After being thrashed by the people, he reportedly revealed that he was member of a five-member gang from Krishnapura near Suratkal, which had come here for committing theft. He said that the driver of the vehicle had left, leaving him and three other gang members, behind. The locals turned him in to the police. Many locals then went in search of other members of the gang till late night.

Idols of gods, pickaxe, and identity card of a student were found in the vehicle, which also was allegedly a stolen one. At the same time, there is a general feeling among people of Kalatrapade that the gang wanted to abduct someone.

Large number of people had gathered both at Kalatrapade and the spot at Halekatte where the car met with an accident.