The Mahadevapura police arrested four members of a gang who had come all the way from Delhi to an event in Phoenix Mall to steal mobile phones. In less than two hours after people reported losing their phones, the police nabbed the gang and recovered 24 devices valued at ₹10.5 lakh from them.
However, a fifth member of the gang managed to give the police team a slip, and escaped with the mobile phones he had robbed. “Efforts are on to track him,” said H. Hariyappa, inspector, Mahadevapura police station, who led the operation.
The spate of thefts occurred on Saturday night during an event organised for Holi. The police estimate that around 2,000 guests visited the mall to attend the event. “The accused got to know about the event through online listings. They booked their tickets online and came to Bengaluru by train. While everyone was partying, the accused started stealing expensive phones from guests. They stashed the devices in their jackets that were specially designed with multiple pockets,” said a police officer.
One of the guests realised the mobile phone was missing and immediately alerted the authorities. Soon, others at the event started checking for the phones and realised that they had been robbed. “The police immediately barred the entry and exit gates at the mall, and started monitoring those who had queued up to leave. We started closely observing people and caught the accused coming out of the venue,” the police officer added.
The accused are reportedly habitual offenders. According to the police, they attend big events in metro cities, steal expensive devices and valuables, and return to Delhi where they would sell the stolen items to customers at Meena Bazaar.
