Accused in mobile theft case to be taken for evidence collection on October 26

Accused linked to prior phone thefts; 24 mobiles recovered so far; search on for the remaining four accused

The Mulavukad police will take the four accused who were arrested in connection with the alleged theft of mobile phones at the concert of an international artiste at Bolgatty, for evidence collection on Saturday (October 26).

The police had already got the custody of two accused — Atiq Ur Rahman and Waseem Ahammed — arrested from Delhi and were planning to take them for evidence collection on Friday (October 25). Later, it was decided to postpone it to Saturday when the police would likely get the custody of the other two accused — Sunny Bhola Yadav and Shyam Baranwal — who were arrested from Mumbai and brought here on Wednesday (October 23).

According to the police, all the four accused were history-sheeters. The police are also on the lookout for the remaining four accused — two each belonging to the Delhi and Mumbai rackets, respectively. Those from Mumbai reportedly travelled to and from Kochi by flight, while those from Delhi made the round trip by train. This was the first large-scale mobile phone theft from a single venue in Kerala. It is being verified whether more gangs were involved in what the police perceive as a well-planned operation.

“They [accused] have pulled off similar mass mobile phone thefts in the past, but they probably went unreported. While we have recovered 24 mobile phones intact, they were also known to dismantle phones and sell the parts separately. Some phones may also have been used for online fraud like phishing,” said police sources.

Meanwhile, two more recovered phones were found to be among the lot stolen from Kochi, taking the number of phones identified so far to seven. While 20 phones were recovered from Delhi, four were seized from Mumbai. As many as 39 phones, 21 of them iPhones, were allegedly stolen mostly from the VIP and fan zone at the concert venue.

Twenty phones were allegedly stolen in a similar fashion during the concert of the same artiste in Bengaluru before the tour reached Kochi on October 6. The investigation teams from the Kochi City police had inspected a slew of shops in Delhi and Mumbai.

Published - October 25, 2024 07:23 pm IST