BENGALURU: The city police (Northeast division) have nabbed the notorious Madhya Pradesh gang involved in the theft of a rifle from an on-duty constable in Kodigehalli on January 18. The police carried out the arrests based on the information provided by the prime accused, who was arrested earlier.
When the police went to arrest them at their hideout at a dilapidated government shelter-home at Kempanahalli in Yelahanka, they were attacked by gang members and the police had to open fire to arrest them.
On January 18, the five-member gang had snatched a .303 rifle from the constable who was on night patrol.
While the gang leader Rai Singh (35) was arrested earlier, the other members Ajambai Singh (25), Jiten Ram Singh Palash (19), Suresh Kodria Mohar (19) and Abubai Singh Mohar (21), all hailing from Bhagoli in Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh, were nabbed on Thursday after a high drama.
On January 18, the Kodigehalli police received information about a group of people moving in a suspicious manner. Paramesh and Siddappa, who were on night patrol, rushed to Tata Nagar around 2 am.
After they spotted a few men roaming in 8th main in Tata Nagar, they approached them only to be hauled and attacked by the gang. The gang hurled stones at the policemen and snatched their loaded rifle and fled.
Prime accused held in MP
The police had then launched a massive manhunt to arrest the gang. They got information that gang leader Rai Singh was hiding in Bhagoli. The city police formed teams and reached Bhagoli and with the help of local police, they nabbed Rai Singh.
However, the police had a tough time dealing with Rai Singh, as the villagers threw stones at them when they entered the village. The local police fired a round in the air to bring the situation under control, following which Rai Singh was arrested and brought to the city.
During the interrogation, Rai Singh revealed the whereabouts of the gang members and their hideouts in the city.
Modus operandi
Robbers don’t often carry stones but this gang was an exception. DCP (Northeast) S Girish said they always carried stones to places they planned to rob. The style of attacking helped crack the case. “A similar incident happened in Kadapa in AP. We contacted local police about it and learned of this MP gang,” Girish said. He also said Bhagoli village’s residents are involved in thefts and robbery. Each gang has four-five member and they travel in search of targets. Police are investigating the case to learn if the gang was involved in any other robberies in the city.
