Several high-end mobile phones were reported to have been stolen by a gang from a shop near Overbridge in the wee hours of Thursday.
According to the Vanchiyoor police, as many as 78 mobile phones, worth around ₹15 lakh, were allegedly stolen from the shop. In addition, an amount of around ₹1,20,000 that was kept in the cash counter after the close of the previous day’s business was also reportedly stolen.
On the basis of visuals obtained from CCTV cameras installed at various points, the city police have found that the gang, purportedly comprising seven men, all natives of Motihari in Bihar, is the same one that allegedly broke into mobile phone shops in Palarivattom on July 22 and in Kollam on June 24.
It is also suspected that the gang had broken into a shop in Pattom some months ago.
“The modus operandi of the gang has been found to be the same. The gang pulled the centre portion of the long shutter outwards and wriggled through the space to enter the premises. They later left the shop around an hour later by around 5 a.m. after stuffing several mobile phones in the carry bags they brought along with them,” an official said.
Soon after the incident came to light, the police issued the Railways with an alert on the possibility of the suspects travelling on trains. Besides, the police scrutinised the passengers’ list of the trains that left Thiruvananthapuram within a short while after the alleged theft.
