The Guntur Uban district police have cracked the mobile phones theft case and arrested two members of the Khanjarabatla gang, Madhya Pradesh, in connection with it that occurred in the district on September 15. An 11-member gang struck at Guntur and in Medak district in Telangana.
The police recovered 2,724 Redmi mobile phones, worth about 3.13 crore, ₹4.50 lakh in cash, a lorry and a car from their possession.
Disclosing this to the media in Guntur on Sunday, Superintendent of Police (SP) R.N. Ammi Reddy said a container was transporting 13,760 mobile phones from Sri City in Nellore district to Kolkata.
When the driver stopped the vehicle at a dhaba along the National Highway, in Guntur, the accused cut the locks, gained entry into the container and threw some cartons out. Other accused who were following in a car and a lorry, picked up the boxes.
The gang threatened the driver at knife point and escaped with the stocks. Following a complaint, the police registered a case and when the police verified the CCTV footages and mobile phone satellite signals, phone number of Madhya Pradesh, Khanjarabatla gang (or Devas gang) were traced.
“The Modus Operandi of the gang is to arrive in the State in advance with lethal weapons, follow the container in a car and a lorry and commit the robbery. They committed theft at two places in AP and Telangana the same day and fled the scene of offence,” Mr. Ammi Reddy said.
Two teams, led by Nallapadu CI K. Veera Swamy and Central Crime Station (CCS) CI K. Vasu, under the supervision of DSP M. Kamalar, visited Dhanighati village, Devas district and arrested Ravi Jhanja and Sharooq Khan.
Kingpin absconding
They seized 862 mobile phones worth ₹76.58 lakh stolen at Guntur and 1,862 cell phones, worth ₹2.36 crore, stolen in the limits of Chegunta police station in Medak district, the SP said and displayed the seized mobile phones, material used for committing the offence.
“The gang committed ‘recce’ before committing the robbery. One Durga Hada, a dismissed traffic constable in Indore Police Commissionerate is heading the gang. The accused were leading lavish lives in their villages,” Mr. Ammi Reddy said.
Efforts are on to arrest the remaining accused in the case, the SP added.
