BANGALORE: Tracing and arresting the armed gang that had robbed a real estate agency staff of Rs. 10 lakh cash at gunpoint on Castle Street here on May 31 was a challenging task for the Bangalore police.

Though the police zeroed in on the suspects and traced them in a cinema in Thiruvananthapuram on June 6, arresting them at the crowded auditorium was not an easy task.

Based on the information given by Vijay, the car driver of the real estate agency, the police suspected the involvement of Anish, who works in a leading software company here.

As Anish, a native of Kollam in Kerala, was away from his house here, the police got in touch with his employers and obtained his details, including his mobile phone number, sources in the police told The Hindu on Saturday.

Subsequently, a police team from Bangalore went to Thiruvananthapuram and approached Kerala's Inspectors-General of Police Arun Kumar Sinha and Krishna Murthy.

After tracking Anish's mobile phone, the police traced him and his two accomplices in Anjali cinema, which was screening "Chhota Mumbai."

Though the police physically confirmed Anish's presence in the cinema, they were hesitant to arrest him as they did not want to create a scene inside the auditorium.

They also thought that he could escape if they waited till the movie was over.

Manager's help

A clever police officer then approached the cinema manager.

He told the manager to pose as a sales tax officer and check the tickets of some persons in the auditorium, including that of Anish.

The manager pretended to verify Anish's tickets and asked him to come out of the auditorium saying that the ticket did have the official seal on it.

An unsuspecting Anish obliged, and his two accomplices, Krishna Das and Jeevan, followed him.

The waiting policemen took the three persons into custody.

On the information given by them, the police arrested their three accomplices in Bangalore and Madikeri, the sources said.

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