Date:14/12/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/12/14/stories/2006121421270400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

25 cars recovered from inter-State gang

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: Stolen property estimated at Rs. 2.5 crore, including 25 cars, gold and silver ornaments, and mobile phones seized from an inter-State gang, were displayed at B.R.V. Grounds here on Wednesday.

Commissioner of Police Neelam Achuth Rao told presspersons that property seized from the gang alone was worth Rs. 1.33 lakh.

He said that the cars were stolen from in and around Mumbai. Commercial Street police had arrested five persons in this regard.

Bharathinagar police had arrested two persons and had seized gold and silver ornaments, television sets and computers worth Rs. 6 lakh. With the arrest, four cases of house burglary and theft have been solved.

The cases were reported in Bharathinagar, Sriramapura and Vijayanagar police stations and Srinivasapura police station limits in Kolar district.

The Halasoor police have arrested one inter-district criminal and seized from him gold ornaments, a two-wheeler, and mobile phones worth Rs. 12 lakh. With the arrest, 20 theft cases have been solved.

On November 30, Cubbon Park police arrested three persons, including a 10-year-old boy, on charge of breaking into a jewellery shop and stealing jewellery, mobile phone, cash and two-wheelers worth Rs. 10 lakh.

The Commissioner said that a few anti-social elements in the city were taking away vehicles from people who were defaulting on the loan taken for the purchase of two-wheelers and cars.

"After seizing the vehicles from the defaulters, the miscreants would threaten the banks demanding settlement," he said.

Such a racket came to light when Mahindra Finance Ltd. complained in this regard.

The Central Crime Branch police conducted raids and seized vehicles worth Rs. 63 lakh.

In another case, six persons were arrested for selling gullible travellers fake air tickets at exorbitant rates.

The police said that the miscreants used to book the tickets at a cheap rate online by using strangers' credit cards.

Fake PNR numbers

They would generate fake PNR numbers. Nine credit card holders of HDFC Bank were reportedly cheated of several lakhs of rupees.

The racket came to light when the cardholders complained to the bank, following which the police were alerted. Ten mobile phones and Rs. 30,000 in cash were seized from the arrested. A total of 41 cars were seized by the police. As many as 26 cases were detected and 12 persons have been arrested.