Bangalore cops arrest gang of 4, recover 21 cars

Chikkajala police have arrested a gang of four involved in car thefts and recovered 21 cars worth Rs52 lakh from them.

The accused have been identified as Sai Prasad alias Sai, 21, a resident Banashankari; Karthikkumar alias Karu, 19, a resident of Anekal taluk; Ananda alias Nanda, 25, a resident of Moodalpalya and Prakash, 24, a resident of Kumbarapete. The four are school dropouts and took up crime to make some quick money.

The gang used duplicate keys to lift cars parked outside the owners’ homes. The gang members led a lavish life from the money made by selling the cars. They sold the vehicles using fake documents.

The stolen cars were being sold in Shimoga, Chikkamagalur, Davanagere and other districts. The arrested were released from the jail just two months ago and they managed to steal so many cars in this small duration, police said.

In another case, a four-member inter-state gang was arrested by Sampigehalli police for their involvement in stealing vehicles. The accused have been identified as Mohammed Haneef alias Haneef, 27, a resident of Kasaragod; Sheikabba alias Sheik, 40, Gopala, 42, (both residents of Chikkamagalur) and Saifulla Sharif alias Saif, 35, a resident of Hassan.

Police said that the gang was also stealing lorries and recovered stolen vehicles worth Rs44 lakh. The gang had lifted four lorries, left unattended and parked on highways.

The vehicles were stolen from Chikkamagalur, Sakaleshpur, Kasaragod, Hassan, Bainduru, Mangalore. Two more involved in this case are absconding, police said.