Modus operandi: Offering Lift

Mysuru: The gang of three miscreants, who had robbed a Bengaluru-bound engineer Madhu Vikas of cash and gold ornaments in the early hours of Jan. 13 morning, had earlier robbed two-persons of their cash and mobile phones near Induvalu and Siddalingapura on Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway on the same day.

The miscreants, who picked up victims Narayanaswamy on the Highway at about 3.15 am and Javaranayaka and his wife Gowramma at about 4 am near Siddalingapura in the pretext of giving them drop, had robbed them of their cash and mobile phones before they reached Mysuru, where they robbed Madhu Vikas.

First case

Narayanaswamy, a resident of Nanjangud, had come to his relative’s house at Induvalu on Jan. 12 and on the next day early morning, he was waiting on the Highway for a bus to go to Mysuru when the miscreants who came in a white car offered him a lift to Mysuru following which Narayanaswamy got into the car.

When the car proceeded a bit further, the miscreants threatened him and snatched Rs.8,500 cash and mobile phone from him. They asked him to get down from the car at a deserted place near Baburayanakoppal, close to Srirangapatna and sped away. 

Shocked Narayanaswamy, managed to stop a bike rider and with his help, reached Srirangapatna Rural Police Station and lodged a complaint.

Second case

After asking Narayanaswamy to get down from the car near Baburayanakoppal and speeding away, the miscreants offered to drop Javaranayaka and his wife Gowramma, vegetable vendors at Devaraja Market in Mysuru.

They picked up the couple who were waiting for a bus on the Highway near Siddalingapura. When the car proceeded for about two kilometres, the miscreants threatened the couple and snatched Rs.3,000 cash and mobile phone from them, before dropping them near K.R. Mills Colony on the Highway and speeding away.

The shocked couple somehow reached their house with the help of public and later took their relatives and lodged a complaint at Metagalli Police Station.

Inspector Raghavendragowda, who conducted spot mahazar, has collected CCTV footages of cameras installed near Columbia Asia Hospital junction and also from the camera installed on the median near K.R. Mills Colony and has launched a hunt to nab the miscreants.

Finally, after the miscreants reached Mysuru, they picked up Bengaluru-bound engineer Madhu Vikas near Suburban Bus Stand in the pretext of dropping him to Bengaluru and took him for a ride around city during which they robbed him of his gold chain and also withdrew cash from two ATM kiosks after forcibly obtaining the password. 

The miscreants had also stabbed Madhu Vikas on his thigh when the miscreants were unable to withdraw cash using the ATM card as Madhu Vikas had given wrong password to them.

The miscreants finally pushed Madhu Vikas from the car near Government Ayurveda College Circle and escaped under the cover of darkness.

Though the Cops came to know that the miscreants had used a Maruti Swift Dzire car, the registration number of the car and the faces of miscreants is not visible, said Devaraja Sub-Division ACP Shashidhar to SOM.

Srirangapatna, Metagalli and Lashkar Police have launched a hunt to trace the car and nab the miscreants, who looted four people in the guise of dropping them in a single day.