Hyderabad: With the election season nearing its hectic conclusion, pickpocket gangs are at work at political meetings and rallies. One such incident was reported at Madhuranagar in a meeting addressed by TPCC chief A. Revanth Reddy, where a gang made good with three mobile phones. The crowd caught one of the culprits red-handed.
The person who was caught was called Lucky, from Mangarbasti under Habeebnagar PS limits, and operates with his gang, the cops found. Madhuranagar SHO B. Srinivas said a hunt is on to nab the two accomplices of Lucky.
To avoid a repeat, police have intensified surveillance. Male and female officials have been deployed in plain clothes. They keep a tab of the people and their suspicious movements during election meetings.
According to senior police officials, these gangs mostly belong to Guntur while some are from the city. They usually move around in groups of around five.
After ‘spotting’ the potential target, one of them goes near and steals valuables and passes it on to other members, who disappear from the place, while the mail culprit will remain at the meeting venue.
“We are also using fingerprint devices. If a suspect's fingerprint is found in the old records, then he will be questioned and his alibis are duly verified,” he told Deccan Chronicle
It appears that at a public meeting of industries minister K.T. Rama Rao a couple of days back, three persons lost cash but they did not report the matter to the police.
Police said that old offenders involved in property offences are already bound over before a magistrate.
