Nanjangud: In a major catch, the Nanjangud Police have arrested a moped-lifter and have recovered 27 TVS mopeds stolen by him, whose total worth is Rs. 6.25 lakh. The arrested has been identified as Siddaraju alias Horeyala Sidda of Kandegala village in Nanjangud taluk.

Siddaraju, who is said to know  only riding mopeds, used to lift TVS mopeds using duplicate keys, when farmers used to park them and go to their farmlands in Nanjangud and surrounding taluks. After stealing the mopeds, Siddaraju used to sell them for a throwaway price and most of these mopeds either did not have proper documents nor a registration number plate.

Alarmed by the increasing cases of moped thefts in recent days, SP R. Chethan had formed a special squad headed by Nanjangud Circle Inspector Lakshmikanth Talwar to crack the thefts. The team was on a routine vehicle checking drive near Hejjige bridge on Nanjangud Bypass Road on June 2, when Siddaraju who was reportedly riding a moped without number plate, was intercepted                             by the Police.

During interrogation, Siddaraju spilled the beans on his two-wheeler lifting spree, following which a total of 27 TVS mopeds, allegedly stolen by him, were recovered from different places in the taluk.

With the arrest of Siddaraju, the Nanjangud Police have solved 23 cases of moped theft registered in Gundlupet Police Station and two each in Nanjangud and Chamarajanagar Town Police Stations.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Chethan has announced a cash reward of Rs. 5,000 to the team which cracked the moped thefts. The team also comprised PSIs Chelvaraju and Vijayaraju, ASI Hafizulla Shariff, Constables Sushilkumar, Nagendra and Chetan Kumar.