VIJAYAWADA: Bhavanipuram police arrested a five-member inter-State gang of robbers on Saturday and recovered four-wheelers and two-wheelers worth Rs 20 lakh from their possession.
Speaking to the media here, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP-II) Ch Vijaya Rao said the gang had committed as many as 14 crimes across the State this year alone.
The five accused – Tata Prasad (35) of Gantasala (Krishna district), Namala Nagaraju (27) of Bhavanipuram (Vijayawada city), Banavath Suresh (28) of Jaggayapet (Krishna district), Doddaka Govardhan (25) of Kanchikacherla mandal (Krishna district) and a Tamil Nadu native, PS Maarimuttu – committed the crimes in Vijayawada city and across the districts of Krishna, Chittoor and East Godavari.
Explaining the modus operandi of the gang, the DCP said that the gang members used to conduct recce during the morning hours in the guise of general public and steal the parked cars and motorcycles in the night.
“They selected isolated roads and colonies with no CCTV cameras for committing crimes. By breaking the windowpane, they would steal the cars and also stole several two-wheelers. We have recovered 10 cars and three motorcycles, worth around `20 lakh from them,” said the DCP.
Of the five accused, three are repeated offenders with seven cases filed against them and have even served jail term.
“Tata Prasad, Namala Nagaraju and PS Maarimuttu became friends while serving a jail term in the district sub-jail and stayed in touch even after getting released. Later, the three met the other two and formed a gang.”
2 women thieves caught in Prakasam district
Prakasam police arrested two women thieves on Saturday and recovered around `3 lakh worth stolen gold jewellery from them.
They were identified as Samudrala Ramanamma (29), and P RamaLakshmamma (37). Both of them hailed from Rayalaseema region and are habitual offenders.
They were caught basing on a complaint from an Ongole resident. Based on information, Cumbum police searched the local bus stand and arrested them.