CCTV footage helps police to nab inter-state attention diversion gang

​Hanamkonda: Intezargunj police on Monday arrested four members of a nine-member gang that was robbing public by diverting their attention at public places.  

The police have recovered an amount of Rs 80,300, gold ornaments worth nearly Rs 25,000 and three cell phones from the inter-state gang that has members from Mailapatti, Kathur Mill Colony in Srirangam mandal of Tiruchinapalli district in Tamil Nadu.

The gang was arrested near Devi theatre in the city with the help of CCTV cameras footage.
Commissioner of Police V Ravinder, who produced the accused before the media at the commissionerate headquarters, informed that special teams were formed to nab the gang leader Sundar Rajan and four others, who were absconding.

The arrested were identified as Mutha Jnanavel, Madan Shakthi alias Satti, Chandru Kumar and Sundar Jagadishwaran. They had committed six offences under Warangal police commissionerate limits since February 2017 and one in Karimnagar town, he said.

The gang members were spread over several main cities in the country to commit thefts by diverting attention of the people. They generally select places with public movements like bus station, railway station and bank premises for the offence. 

Their modus operandi was to identify persons having cars and divert their attention by throwing small amounts of cash near their vehicle, then run away with briefcase or bags containing cash or jewellery kept in the vehicle, the Commissioner explained.

The gang stolen a bag containing Rs one lakh cash from the car of Devi Theatre's owner Bollam Sukesh Kumar on March 28. On the same day, the gang had stolen Rs 2 lakh from a two-wheeler rider at Punjan National Bank in Karimnagar.

The video footage obtained from CCTV cameras installed at Government Maternity Hospital in Hanamkonda helped to identify the offenders and nab them. The gang was preparing to go to their native place to attend a village festival and wanted to pocket as much as they could, Ravinder informed. 

Tight vigil at bus stations, railway stations and other public places was maintained after learning about the gang, the Commissioner of Police said. He appreciated the police team who nabbed the gang.