Davangere (Karnataka), Jul 20 (IANS): The Karnataka police have arrested an 11-member family of notorious inter-state robbers who were wanted in more than a dozen robbery cases in Davanagere district of the state, the police said here on Monday.

The police have also recovered Rs 22 lakh in cash, mobile phones and four bikes from the gang, whose members were arrested from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

According to the police, the gang was known as 'Oji Kuppam Gang' whose network spread to the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Superintendent of Police, Davanagere, C.B. Ryshyanth, told reporters that the gang was notorious for committing robbery by diverting the attention of those who came to banks to withdraw money.

He said the gang members were born and brought up in Kuppam village in Chittor district of Andhra Pradesh, hence they were known as 'Oji Kuppam gang' across the southern states.

Ryshyant added that though these gang members were notorious criminals, they did not indulge in any heinous acts like killing or attacking the victims with any weapon.

The police said that their biggest weapon was attention diversion tactics.

"They used to follow the victim's vehicle till it was parked. Once a vehicle was parked, two or three members covered it while another person committed the theft. Another tactic was to puncture the victim's vehicle and commit the crime when the victim was away to fetch a mechanic. In some cases, they applied itching spray on the victim and offered help before committing the theft. At times they dropped Rs 50 or Rs 100 currency notes on the road to divert the victim's attention and then committed the theft," an officer part of the operation told reporters.

The SP also disclosed that this particular gang had adopted an unusual modus operandi. They would seek an astrologer's help to find an auspicious time and date to commit thefts.

The police added that the gang members visited their village only after making a handful of money through such thefts.

"This gang had a history of operating in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as well," the officer said.