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.
