BENGALURU: Muggers who were out to rob people in T Dasarahalli have been caught red-handed by two persons and were handed over to the police. With the arrest of the duo, the police said they were able to solve at least 16 robbery and pick-pocketing cases. The arrested robbers are identified as Immanuel, 30, and his associate, Raju, 28, both residents of Mallasandra and natives of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh.
The duo was caught on Sunday night when they were trying to rob a 28-year-old businessman at MEI Layout in Mallasandra, near Bagalagunte police station. Srinivas was out for an after-dinner walk at around 9.50 pm, behind the BBMP office in MEI Layout, when two people started following him from a distance. Srinivas assumed them to be walkers too. However, soon they threatened to stab him with their knives and asked him to part with his mobile phone and other valuables.
When he refused, Srinivas started shouting in fear. Another person identified as Ravi, who was also walking near by, heard Srinivas’ screams and rushed to his rescue. As soon as Ravi rushed to the spot, the duo tried to escape. But Ravi and Srinivas chased the duo and caught them with the help of other passers-by who too rushed to their rescue. The muggers were beaten black and blue before they were taken to the police station.
An investigating officer said, “When we subjected the duo to interrogation, they confessed to having robbed another person on the same day in the afternoon.” Prakash, 25, a private firm employee was robbed in a similar way at Raghavendra Nagar in Mallasandra around 2.30 pm. They stole his phone, wallet with Rs 1,000 cash and other documents. “Prakash filed a complaint with us in the evening,” the investigating officer said.
Immanuel and Raju had come to Bengaluru to work as building painters. They soon started robbing people to get quick money. “We have recovered 16 mobile phones from them and sent them to jail,” the officer added.