The Moodbidri Police on Thursday arrested six more persons in connection with 28 cases of dacoity, theft, cattle theft, extortion registered in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan and Kodagu districts and in Bengaluru city.
Police Commissioner N. Shashi Kumar gave the names of six arrested persons as Mohammed Zubair, Ibrahim Lateef, Rakesh, Arjun, Mohan and Boliyar Mansoor. The police have already arrested nine persons in this connection, he said.
These 15 persons were part of a group of about 60 accused in a spate of dacoities and other criminal cases registered across the State. The arrest follows investigation into seven cases of dacoity and theft reported in Moodbidri, Mulky and Bajpe police limits of the city in March.
Mr. Kumar said that Zubair, Lateef and Rakesh and another person, who is at large, headed a group of about 15 persons each. These groups have been coordinating with one another in committing dacoity, theft, cattle theft and extortion in the last three years. Among those who have been robbed of their valuables by these accused include pilgrims coming to Dharmasthala, Kukke Subrahmanya and those going to holiday destinations in Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu. “We have traced their inter-district operation. We are tracing their inter-State operation now,” Mr. Kumar said.
Apart from seven cases registered in Mangaluru, the accused were involved in eight cases registered in Dakshina Kannada district, five cases in Kodagu district, three cases in Chikkamagaluru district, two cases each in Hassan and Udupi districts and one case in Bengaluru’s Vijayanagar Police limits.
The police seized three cars, eight mobile phones, 54 grams of gold ornaments, 3.5 kg of silver articles and two machetes.
Mr. Kumar said that a licensed pistol used by Sameer to open fire at personnel of a hotel in Falnir in October 2020 had been stolen by Mansoor and his associates from a house in Arehalli Police limits of Hassan district. Mansoor had sold that fire arm to Sameer, he said.
Mr. Kumar appreciated the efforts of a team headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police (North) Mahesh Kumar in tracing the accused. The team comprised Moodbidri Police Inspector Dinesh Kumar B.S., Police Sub-Inspector Sudeep M.V., Head Constables Rajesh, Mohammed Hussain and Police Constables Akil Ahmed, Sujan, Santosh, Basavaraj Patil, Yashwanth Kumar, Shivaraj, Narasimha, Pradeep and Manoj Kumar.
