After six successful attempts, robber cabbie, cohorts drive into police net
After six successful attempts, robber cabbie, cohorts drive into police net
An autorickshaw driver by day, he moonlighted as a robber by night.
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3 idiots: Papanna and his accomplices Kiran and Ramesh with the autorickshaw and goods worth Rs 2 lakh that were recovered from them |
Papanna (27) and two of his accomplices, Kiran (24) and Ramesh (28), were arrested yesterday by the Regulated Market Committee Yard police for allegedly robbing passengers.
The accused were nabbed while trying to dispose of a part of the booty at a jeweller's shop.
Stolen goods worth Rs 2 lakh have been recovered from the accused. The police said the accused were involved in such crimes for at least a couple of months. They did notu00a0 hesitate to murder their victims if they refused to part with their belongings.
The trio had also allegedly attempted to rape a 23-year-old woman in Rajajinagar about three weeks ago as she refused to part with her valuables. It was only when she relented that they left by road, half naked.
A police team arrested the trio based on a complaint lodged by their latest victim, Madhusoodhan Menon.
Menon, who arrived in the city from Kerala around midnight on February 22, was looking for an auto when two of the accused -- Kiran and Ramesh --u00a0 posed as passengers and invited Menon to share the auto with them. They then pretended to hail Papanna's autorickshaw.
Papanna drove to a deserted spot where the three coerced him into parting with his valuables. While Menon handed over his laptop and cell phone, he noted the registration number of the rickshaw and lodged a complaint.
The police said the accused have confessed to their crime.
"Since January, the gang robbed six people. They ran out of luck the seventh time," said G C Manjunath, inspector of RMC Yard police station. "Had Menon not noted the registration number, it might have been difficult to arrest them."
The arrested accused have been remanded in judicial custody.
