BENGALURU: The Nelamangala police on Thursday arrested a 24-year-old man on charges of robbing actor Vinod Raj of Rs 1 lakh. The accused, Samson alias Ojikuppam Raju, allegedly robbed Raj on September 28 when he was going home after withdrawing some cash from a bank.
Samson was picked up by the police who, acting on a tip-off, caught him near a private bank in Nelamangala where he was observing movements of customers. Three others escaped by jumping into an open drain.
During questioning, Samson revealed his involvement in the Vinod Raj case and said that he was supposed to invest the money in property. The police recovered Rs 1 lakh from him. He further said the other three members of the gang had come to the city to target customers of banks. “The gang had rented a house in Hosakote where Samson had kept the stolen money. A bike was also seized from him. A special team is visiting Andhra Pradesh to nab the other gang members,” a police officer said.
Meanwhile, actor Vinod Raj told TNIE: “I have identified the accused Samson who slashed the rear tyre while his associates posed as my fans to divert my attention.”
On September 28, two men had diverted the attention of Vinod Raj, by slashing the rear tyre of his car forcing him to stop and then making away with the money kept inside. Samson was one of the two.
Diverting the attention of bank customers was the primary modus operandi of the gang, who hailed from Ojikuppam in Andhra Pradesh.