Police to seek custody of two accused arrested from Mumbai in Kochi mobile phone theft case

The two Uttar Pradesh natives arrested from Mumbai by the Kochi City police team in connection with the alleged theft of 39-odd mobile phones during a concert by international artist Alan Walker at Bolgatty were remanded in judicial custody on Thursday.

The accused were produced in the Judicial First Class Magistrate-1 court here in the afternoon. The investigation team said that the application for custody of the accused, including Sunny Bhola Yadav, 27, and Shyam Baranwal, 32, would be submitted before the court on Friday. Their interrogation is required to get further leads about the gang involved in the theft and to recover the mobile phones, according to the police.

The two were apprehended from Sunny’s house in Mumbai, and four mobile phones were seized from them, taking the total number of phones recovered so far to 24. The team in Mumbai inspected a slew of mobile phone shops across the city as part of the investigation on Tuesday evening, the police said.

An intensive search is on to nab four more persons — two each from Delhi and Mumbai — allegedly involved in the theft. The police may despatch additional teams to Mumbai to arrest them. Though the officials found one of the mobile phones active at a location in Mumbai, it was found switched off later. The location was identified, but the accused could not be traced.

Twenty mobile phones were recovered from Delhi. Out of these phones, five iPhones were claimed by their owners after a thorough verification including their IMEI (international mobile equipment identity) numbers. However, they will have to claim it from the court.

The gangs involved in the alleged theft are known to dismantle the mobile phones and sell them as individual parts immediately. The probe found that each gang member purchased a ₹2,000 ticket, mingled with the around 6,000-strong crowd and stole the phones during the concert. The history-sheeters from Mumbai reportedly travelled to and from Kochi by flight, while those from Delhi made the round trip by train.

Published - October 24, 2024 08:01 pm IST