The Railway Police here have arrested four persons including two minors – aged 10 and 11 years respectively – for allegedly stealing mobile phones from commuters at the Coimbatore Junction on Friday.
The issue came to light when Vinoth Kumar (48), a manager in a private firm, lost his mobile phone worth Rs. 42,000 while standing in a queue at the ticket counter in the junction.
He was among the four persons who lost their mobile phones. Railway Police Inspector M. Lawrence said that on viewing the CCTV footage near the counter, the police saw the two boys lifting mobile phones from commuters. A search for the boys was conducted and through CCTV cameras the boys were caught at the rear entrance of the junction with two others.
During inquiry the police learnt that the two others were Rama Mahota (20) and Dev Kumar (20) of Maharajpur village in Jharkhand, who allegedly used the boys to lift mobile phones.
The police added that the two youth paid Rs. 10,000 to the families of the boys and brought them here for stealing mobile phones. They stayed at a lodge at Gandhipuram. The Inspector told reporters here that boys were used to commit the crime as they could easily obtain bail through Juvenile Justice Act. A case was registered against the four under section 379 (punishment for theft) of the Indian Penal Code.
The two boys were lodged in the Juvenile Home in the city. Rama Mahota and Dev Kumar were lodged at the Borstal Home at Pollachi.
