BENGALURU: A science teacher at a private school, a former Home Guard and another person have been arrested by Thalaghattapura police on charges of robbery on Saturday. The accused used to pose as policemen and stop vehicles on NICE road on the outskirts of the city on the pretext of checking vehicle documents. They would then rob vehicle owners and decamp with valuables. With their arrest, 14 cases have been solved, police said.
The arrested are Raghu (34), a resident of Kanakapura in Ramanagara district, Doddaiah (48) of Anekal and Harish (31) of Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu. Raghu was working as a Home Guard but quit and joined as a driver at the RTO office in Ramanagara. His friend Doddaiah was working at Muthoot Gold finance firm and had quit his job a few months ago while Harish was a teacher at a private high school in Krishnagiri.
A senior police officer said Raghu and Doddaiah are habitual offenders and had been involved in several robbery cases in the past. Doddaiah was previously arrested in a POCSO case and was out on bail. The duo became friends while in jail and had shared their contact numbers. After they got out on bail, they met and discussed plans to make easy money. Raghu suggested that they rob people posing as policemen, as the victims would not approach police to file complaints. Then they hatched plots to rob commuters on NICE Road.
“The duo roped in Harish to communicate with vehicle owners in English and stop the vehicles on the pretext of checking documents. The gang purchased a Mahindra Bolero jeep and fixed a Tumakuru registration plate to make it look like a government vehicle. They had even got a sticker which read ‘Police’ which they affixed on the jeep during robbery. Raghu had got a police sub-inspector uniform’s stitched in Channapatna while Doddaiah bought a suit for himself to look like an officer heading an anti-rowdy squad,” the officer said.
“The gang targeted couples and threatened them saying that they would call their parents. Then they would snatch their valuables. They had committed 14 similar offences registered in 11 police station limits across the city,” the officer added. The gang was eventually exposed by some victims who decided to approach the police and file a complaint. Police seized gold ornaments worth `15 lakh and cash of `3.99 lakh along with the jeep, an SUV, police uniforms, a toy pistol and a double barrel gun from them.