The Kalasipalya police have arrested a five-member gang, including a 32-year-old man who has been evading arrest for five years. Members of the gang are from Tamil Nadu. They used to roam around Bengaluru, in the guise of rag-pickers, to identify residences to burgle.
According to the police, those arrested are Murugesh (32), Shankar (29), Rajendra (40), Sumathi (45) and Latha (30). They are residents of Vaniyambadi, Vellore district in Tamil Nadu. They are related to each other.
Murugesh, Shankar and Rajendra used to come to the city in the morning under the guise of rag-pickers. They used to identify houses that were locked for a long time. “They would do this by looking at newspapers or milk packets piled up outside the door," said a police officer.
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At night, the entire gang used to break open the lock using rods. "After looting the house, they would return to Tamil Nadu. The women used to approach pawnbrokers to dispose valuables," added the officer.
The police got hold of them after getting CCTV footage of a group entering a house in Kalasipalya police limits. "Their photos were sent to other stations. We learnt that one of the main members of the gang was Murugesh, who was earlier arrested by the Amrutahalli police. The modus operandi also matched," said the officer.
A team went to Vaniyambadi and nabbed the suspects. They seized 1.70 kg of gold and valuables worth Rs 51 lakhs from them. The gang is named in 17 cases in 10 police stations across the city.
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They are residents of Vaniyambadi, Vellore district in Tamil Nadu, and are related to
each other, police say