BENGALURU: A gang of five which was involved in at least 19 robbery cases has been arrested by Basaveshwaranagar police on Wednesday. Police have seized articles worth `10 lakh, including a Swift Dzire car.
The accused are Yallappa (26), Rajesh (27), Harsha (22), Narasimha (22) and Sumanth (20), all associates of Slum Bharath, a rowdy from Rajagopal Nagar. Vishwanath, a pawn broker in Laggere, was also arrested.
According to police, in a bid to lead lavish lives, the accused used to target people in isolated places and threaten them at knifepoint to rob them of their valuables. In one case, the gang even chopped a man’s hand while robbing his gold ring near Doddabalapur. The arrests were made after the gang attacked a couple on September 26 and robbed them of their gold jewellery.
Pawn brokers involved
Police said that it is now well known that pawn brokers in the city have been involved in purchasing stolen gold for 50 per cent the market value. Some of the robbers and chain snatchers in the city have tied up with pawn brokers. Once the stolen jewellery is sold to a broker, it is melted immediately making it difficult for the police to trace the stolen gold jewellery. Cases are booked against such pawn brokers under Section 411 (Dishonestly receiving stolen property) of the IPC.