Four persons were arrested on Saturday for stealing two-wheelers mostly at the Government Medical College Hospital in Vellore and Girivalam path in Tiruvannamalai.
Police identified the arrested persons as S. Rajesh, 35, K. Prabhu, 34, V. Arjunan, 35, and B. Santhosh, 33. Initial inquiry revealed that Rajesh, a native of Walajah town, was an autorickshaw driver but lost his livelihood during COVID-19. Since then, he started to steal two-wheelers in big towns like Arani, Arcot, Ranipet, and Vellore. Earlier, he served a jail term for stealing two-wheelers in Arani and Walajah towns.
Based on several complaints, especially from visitors to the Government Medical College Hospital in Vellore, the Superintendent of Police, Vellore, N. Manivannan, formed a special police team led by K. Subha, inspector, Vellore Taluk police, to nab the accused. The team analysed CCTV footage in the hospital premises and found a well-dressed man with a face mask riding an unlocked two-wheeler from the premises.
Subsequently, police nabbed Rajesh and recovered 10 two-wheelers. Rajesh revealed that he targets vehicles that are left unlocked by their owners in the premises. All two-wheelers belong to the same motorcycle company. He used to sell stolen two-wheelers to illegal arrack sellers in Walajah and Ranipet towns for ₹5,000 - ₹10,000 each. A case was registered and later he was lodged at the Central Prison in Vellore.
In Tiruvannamalai town, S. Ramesh, 32, a private finance company staff, parked his two-wheeler on Kanchi road but found three persons riding it away. Immediately, along with other staff and residents, Ramesh nabbed the trio and handed them over to the Tiruvannamalai Taluk police. Inquiry revealed that accused Prabhu, Arjunan and Santhosh belong to the gypsy community and were natives of Allinagar village in Tiruvannamalai. They used to steal two-wheelers, especially along the 14-km-long Girivalam path, for many months. Police recovered 19 two-wheelers from them in the village. They were lodged at the sub-jail in Tiruvannamalai, the police said.
