Tamil Nadu - Chennai

He employed `novel method' for stealing mobile phones

Staff Reporter

Claiming that he was hearing and speech-impaired, youth hoodwinked shopkeepers Balaji would lift a mobile phone and pass it on to a colleague, who would quietly move away

CHENNAI: The police arrested a youth here on Saturday on charges of stealing brand new mobile phone handsets from showrooms using a `novel' method.

The modus operandi of Balaji (24) of Muthu Mariamman Colony in Aminjikarai was to enter busy mobile phone showrooms in the city and claim to be hearing and speech-impaired.

He would then hand over a letter to the persons concerned, appealing for contributions from the public as he had to support his family.

Some shopkeepers would turn sympathetic after reading the letter and even as they got distracted, either by reading it or trying to get some money, Balaji would lift a mobile phone and pass it on to a colleague, who would quietly move away. Balaji would leave the place after collecting the contribution.

He used to employ similar methods at homes where women were alone in flats and shopping malls and offices in the city.

Complaints

Following complaints of missing phones, the police formed a special party, which moved around specific locations in plain clothes and trapped a few persons who came to the second-hand markets to dispose of used handsets.

While questioning a youth, they found an appeal letter claiming that he was deaf and dumb, but found him speaking well. Based on his confession, the police found out that he was the one who had conned the shopkeepers, Joint Commissioner of Police (North) M. Ravi said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Pulianthope) G. Sampath Kumar said the youth spent the money lavishly.

Twenty-one mobile phone sets, valued at Rs.1 lakh, were seized from a second-hand dealer shop, he added.

Police have registered a case against Balaji and remanded him to judicial custody. They are looking for his accomplices.

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