Daijiworld Media Network – Bantwal (SP)

Bantwal, Nov 30: The policemen of Punjalakatte station arrested seven persons on Monday November 29. They allegedly are part of a gang of notorious thieves involved with a number of theft attempts.

The arrested men have been identified as Mohammed Rafiq (21) from Talapady near B C Road, Mohammed Ashfaque (22), residing in Thumbe B A Quarters, Manjunath Saldanha (23) from Tokkottu Ranipura, his brother, Shubhanath Saldanha (28), Nitin (23) from Ranipura, Pradip (22) from Kotekar Gumpala, and  Ismail (30), residing in Kaikamba Shantiangady.

At 1.30 am on Sunday November 28, the gang had broken open the front shutter of cooperative agriculture bank at Kavalamudoor Kavalakatte. When they were trying to break the second shutter located inside, an auto rickshaw driver named Abdul Gafoor saw them. After sensing trouble, the thieves escaped  in the Qualis vehicle they had brought. For this theft, they had severed telephone and power connection to the bank. The rickshaw driver noted down the vehicle number and conveyed this information to the locals and Punjakalakatte police station.

As per the directions of the district superintendent of police, various check points were set up in the district but the vehicle in question remained elusive. After learning on Monday that the vehicle they were searching for was near B C Road, an intensive search operation was launched, and the vehicle was found at Kaikamba. Those inside the vehicle were arrested and the things used for their theft operations were taken into possession.

Reportedly, the vehicle in question had been hired on a daily rent basis. The gang members revealed that so far, they had tried to break into various jewellery shops and cooperative banks located in Puttur, Madantyar, Karkala, Moodbidri etc., during the last six months about ten times, but had not succeed even once to get access to cash and valuables. The only things they could get were a gas cylinder and grinder from Talapady near B C Road, they confessed. Assistant superintendent of police, Amit Singh, had come to Beltangady to guide the operations.