Vijayawada: FASTag message helps cops catch robber

Vijayawada: Jaggaiahpet highway patrolling police apprehended one person accused of robbing electrical goods worth Rs7 lakh along with a goods carrying vehicle Tata Ace in Vijayawada when he was trying to sell the valuables to the local people at Gauravaram village near Jaggaiahpet.

According to Jaggaiahpet police, the accused had stolen a goods carrier vehicle laden with electronic goods from a reputed showroom in Nidamanuru on the outskirts of Vijayawada on Monday and proceeded towards Vijayawada-Hyderabad national highway.

The vehicle laden with four LEDs costing Rs3,76,000, eight air conditioners valued at Rs2.92 lakh and two washing machines worth Rs38,000 was parked near an electronic showroom in Nidamanuru under Patamata police station limits. The vehicle driver was assigned to deliver the goods at the showroom in Bhimavaram in West Godavari district. Noticing the vehicle near the showroom, an accused cleverly lifted the vehicle and went to Gauravaram village and tried to sell the goods at very low price.

On the other hand, the vehicle driver, the employee of the showroom, received a FASTag message of crossing the vehicle at Keesara toll plaza on national highway on Monday afternoon.

He immediately informed to Patamata police about the theft of vehicle along with the electrical goods. The Patamata police alerted the Jaggaiahpet police and highway teams. The police nabbed the accused and seized the electrical goods along with the vehicle.

Hundreds of vehicles pass on the national highway and it will be difficult to keep vigil on the highways. But the FASTag message helped the police to track the vehicle and arrest the accused.

Krishna district Superintendent of Police M Ravindranath Babu presented the cash rewards to the constables P Ramesh and P Srinivasa Rao, who successfully tracked the goods vehicle and apprehended the accused.