Udupi police bust chain-snatching racket, recover jewellery

Media source

Udupi, 20 July 2010: The district police have busted a chain snatchers’ racket and successfully unearthed as many as 17 chain snatching cases reported in the recent past. The arrested are Ramesh Poojary (35) from Gundibailu , a bus driver, Vadiraja (27), from Doddanagudde, a part -time conductor in several private busses and  Umesh Kamath, a resident of Doddanagudde who was running an office by name GK Consultatants near Diana Circle.

 

 

1050 grams of golden jewellery worth Rs 10.13 lakh, two motor bikes and TATA Sumo used during the robbery have been recovered from the arrested. Another member of the gang involved in the chain-snatching cases has been identified as Paniyooru Ravi, who is presently in the Bellary Central Jail, for his involvement in a murder case. Udupi SP Praveen Madhukar Pawar told the reporters that there had been a sudden increase in the chain snatching incidents since 2009. The chain snatchers were employing different modus operandi. The accused used to take up their operation in the evenings in the most deserted places, Mr Pawar said.

 

Modus operandi:

According to police, the suspected chain-snatchers chose aged and women as their targets. They had used a bike with registration number written in Kanada script. They even used to skip one digit on the number plate. The chain snatchers used to mesmerize their targets in the guise of being alert citizens and used to ask the old women not to wear the gold ornaments, as the area is sensitive and bundle the same in a paper and give. When the aged opened the pack at home they only found some stones or waste materials in that, SP said.

 

 

 

The chain snatchers had sold the gold ornaments to Umesh Kamath who in turn melted the gold and got some other jewellery done. Mr Pawar said that out of the 36 chain snatching cases reported in 2009, 29 cases had been detected and out of the seven cases reported in 2010, three cases had been detected. Police are in the lookout for another gang engaged in the chain snatching case, he added. Meanwhile, IGP (Western Range) Gopal Hosur on Monday rewarded Udupi DySP Jayanth V Shetty, head of the investigating team with a cash award of Rs.25, 000 for the achievement.