The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Juvenile gang behind thefts in Poojappura

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 27, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Juvenile gang behind thefts in Poojappura

Staff Reporter

Thiruvananthapuram: A gang of boys between the ages of 12 and 15 is suspected to be behind the series of burglaries in shops at Poojappura and Vattiyoorkavu last week, according to the city police.

The police have arrested a 12-year-old boy hailing from Vizhinjam in connection with the thefts. Circle Inspector (CI), Museum, S. Madhosoodhanan said a telephone call by a resident in the early hours of Monday had resulted in the arrest of the boy.

The caller said he had noticed the shutter of a bakery at Thirumala open. The police who rushed to the spot arrested the boy from a nearby compound. Five other boys who were with him managed to give the police the slip. "The boys were sharing the loot when we arrested one of them," he said.

The CI said the arrested boy was part of a 15-member gang hailing from Vizhinjam. His mother hails from Thirumala. The police were also looking for the boy's 15-year-old brother in connection with the thefts.

The CI said the accused were neglected children addicted to brown sugar and ganja. They left home around 5 p.m. in the evening and camped secretly on terraces of houses in the city till midnight. After carrying out the thefts, the gang members left for their homes on early morning buses from Thampanoor.

The boy was produced before the court and send to the Juvenile Home at Poojappura.

Mobile phone theft

The theft of mobile phones valued at Rs.6.5 lakhs from a showroom at Vellayambalam on Saturday night continues to puzzle the police. A senior police official said four thefts were reported in the past year from mobile phone showrooms owned by the same person in the city.

He said all the stolen mobile phones were insured. The police were probing whether the theft was a stage-managed one for fraudulently claiming insurance. Electronic showrooms often purchase mobile phones for prices higher than that in the grey market and insure the telephones against theft.

The plunging mobile phone prices often cause loss to shop owners if the items are not sold fast. There have been instances in other States where shop owners have staged burglaries to claim insurance for the mobile phones. The "stolen ones" are then sold on the sly in the black market for a lesser price.

The case relating to the theft of mobile telephones from a showroom on Mahatma Gandhi Road was recently transferred to the Crime Branch. The city police were still pursuing certain leads in the case.

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