Mysuru: Hoteliers beware! A gang that has mastered the crime of stealing LCD and LED television sets is on the prowl. After booking a hotel room for Rs. 1,000 or Rs. 2,000, these criminals might take away the expensive television sets mounted on the room walls.

According to Police data, over four lodges in the city have reported TV thefts by “guests” and they have arrested one person in this connection. The Police reveal that they have got information from their headquarters in Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Hubballi and Tumakuru that the gang is operating across the State.

Till now, room towels, soft furnishings such as cushions, cutlery, crockery or glassware, slippers, light bulbs, blankets and decorative accessories such as vases were the target of thieves who come in the guise of guests. Police sources said that the gang earlier targeted houses and stole TVs and electronic gadgets and now lodges are their targets.

CCTV VISUALS HELPED POLICE

TV thefts in the city has been reported from a lodge at Lashkar Mohalla where a fortnight ago, an LED set worth Rs. 25,000 was stolen. Another theft was reported from “Samasth Suites”, on K.T. Street where an LED TV worth Rs. 20,000 was stolen.

Investigating the case that was reported from Lashkar Mohalla, the Lashkar Police led by Inspector H.M. Kantharaju obtained CCTV visuals from Mysore Gateway Hotel that is attached to Nandini Hotel on Irwin Road near the Sub-urban Bus Stand. The visuals showed that a man was moving in the hotel corridor with a rather heavy bag.

When the hotel register was checked, it was found that one Vinay Prasad, a 22-year-old youth had checked into room number 103 from where the TV was stolen. The Police team managed to arrest him and interrogation revealed that he hailed from Adakamaranahalli in Bengaluru and he confessed to stealing a couple of TV sets in Mysuru and Bengaluru.

YOUTH TOOK TO CRIME AFTER FAILED AFFAIR

Vinay Prasad told the Police that he was the son of Mrithunjaya, an electrician in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. He revealed that he had stolen an Onida LCD TV from Sharada Vilasa KK Residency near the City Bus Stand worth Rs. 14,000 and had robbed TV sets worth Rs. 30,000 each from Dasharath Lodge in Mysuru and Arabian Lodge at Kalasipalya in Bengaluru. Later, he led the Police team to Bhagyalakshmi Lodge behind the Sub-Urban Bus Stand where he had kept all the stolen TVs.

Police said that whenever he checked into a lodge, Vinay Prasad used to take two spanners, one screw-driver and a cutting blade with him and would remove the screws of the TV sets. Police said that Vinay was in love with a girl and she had deserted him.

Upset with this, he left his home and took to crime to sustain himself. He used to target lodges and managed to secure rooms by paying nominal advance amount. He used to carry the bag to and fro the corridors so that the lodge staff did not suspect him. The Police will now produce Vinay to court.

Police told Star of Mysore that such criminal acts cannot be ignored as an individual case. “An organised gang is operating across the State and there have been reports from Hubballi, Bengaluru, Mangaluru and Tumakuru of similar thefts,” a source said.

FAKE IDENTITY PROOF

These gang members give fake ID proofs and telephone numbers and they get away easily because the lodge staff do not check the documents. “Some lodges blindly accept photocopies of documents without bothering to check the originals. They allow the criminals to enter their addresses and phone numbers and they do not verify the same,” Police said.

Police also said that while 90 percent of the hotels in the city have CCTV cameras, 10 percent of them were still to install the gadgets. Those who have installed cameras have bought poor-quality ones that do not record clear picture, hampering investigations, Police said. Also, hoteliers do not store CCTV visuals, they added.

Speaking to SOM, Mysore City Hotel Owners’ Association President C. Narayanagowda said that he will soon inform hoteliers to install good quality CCTV cameras and also tell them to verify the credentials of all visitors without giving room for suspicion.

Sub-Inspectors S.H. Pooja, E. Shivakumar and Police personnel Mahadevappa, Parashivamurthy, Siddaraju, Lokesh and Pradeep participated in the operation.