Tirumala police apprehended a six-member gang from Maharashtra on Monday involved in multiple chain snatching incidents, including one at the Vendi Vakili point of Tirumala temple on July 26, and another at the Pilgrim Amenities Complex (PAC).
During a media briefing, the Tirumala One Town CI said the gang entered the queue as devotees and snatched a mangalsutra from a woman from Tamil Nadu at Vendi Vakili. Earlier, on June 17, they stole a gold chain from a devotee from Hyderabad, who was sleeping in PAC 3. Several theft cases have been registered at local police stations.
Using CCTV footage, police traced the gang members moving suspiciously near the Octopus building and took them into custody. On interrogation, the gang admitted to committing multiple robberies in Maharashtra, with several registered cases pending in various police stations there.
Police recovered 87 grams of gold ornaments from the accused. The arrested have been identified as:
Arjun Lakshman Masalkar (24)
Bhagwan Bapu Rao Gaikwad (42)
Vikas Vijay Yadav (27)
Ganesh Sunil Gaikwad (30)
Aakash Bhavan Gaikwad (31)
Ravi Janardhan Yadav (38)
The accused were produced before the court and sent to judicial remand.
