Eight persons, who were involved in a series of chain-snatching incidents, were arrested by the North Division police, and gold chains worth Rs 38.50 lakh, 20 laptops, four bikes, LED television sets and mobile phones recovered from them.
Briefing reporters, DCP (North) Sandeep Patil said the North Division police constituted a special team headed by Malleswaram police inspector to nab the suspects after a spate of chain-snatching incidents in the division.
Malleswaram police arrested two persons and recovered 18 gold chains worth Rs 12 lakh.
The suspects Bharath, 21, and Charan, 21, residents of Dupanahalli Layout in Hoskote, would steal bikes and use them for snatching chains, and operate near parks and temples, he added.
During their interrogation, they informed the police that they came in contact with convict Kulla Ramesh, serving a jail term in a murder case in Mahalakshmi Layout, at the Central Prison, Parappana Agrahara. Ramesh provided them inputs.
They would operate in Malleswaram, Rajajinagar, Subramanyanagar, Peenya, Sadashivanagar, Nandini Layout, Basaveshwarnagar, Mahalakshmi Layout, Seshadripuram and Magadi Road areas. They would give a part of the booty to Kulla, he added.
“We will move the court to seek Kulla Ramesh’s custody for inquiry,” Patil said.
In another case, the Vidyaranyapura police arrested Rajkumar, 21, a resident of Kuvempunagar and Ravikumar, 21, of Vidyaranyapura and recovered seven gold chains worth Rs 8.50 lakh and two bikes from them.
The duo was also involved in a few house theft cases, the police said. In a separate incident, the Peenya police arrested Bharath, 21, a resident of Nagasandra, and recovered nine laptops and two bikes worth Rs 5.20 lakh.
He would identify locked houses in areas where college students and professional stayed alone, and make away with valuables, the police said.