Even though the number of accidents taking place on Bengaluru-Mysuru highway has come down considerably after enforcement of speed limit, instances of highway robbery continue to be reported.
A couple travelling by car on Sunday night was waylaid by two persons on a two-wheeler on the elevated portion of the highway near Ganjam in Srirangapatna taluk.
When the victims, who were proceeding towards Mysuru, stopped the car, the accused claiming to be police personnel, questioned the driver the reason for driving slowly. Next, they demanded the occupants of the car to produce their vehicle documents.
But, before they could produce documents, the accused snatched the gold ornaments from the duo and escaped. The victims lost a gold chain weighing 12 grams, three gold rings weighing 6 grams, 5 grams and three grams, besides gold ear-rings weighing two grams.
A total of 28 grams of gold was taken away by the accused, confirmed a senior police official.
The couple, who was proceeding to Gonikoppa in Kodagu district from Bengaluru via the highway, had lodged a complaint with Srirangapatna Town Police station.
Sunday night’s robbery on Bengaluru-Mysuru highway was the seventh incident reported since the six-lane road was thrown open for traffic earlier this year.
Police officials said the accused were resorting to the same modus operandi of targeting parked or slow-moving vehicles on the highway before approaching them claiming to be police personnel. Next, they turn aggressive, rob their valuables and flee from the spot.
Though the police has managed to crack three out of the seven cases of robbery reported on the highway so far, a special team of police personnel will be constituted to solve the remaining four cases, said a police official.
“The special team is working to crack the pending cases. We are confident of nabbing the accused”, the police official said.
Meanwhile, a senior police official has warned the travellers against stopping their vehicles on the highway.
Most of the victims of robbery have been travellers, who had parked their vehicles on the road at night and slept. In case the drivers need to sleep, the police has advised them to proceed to the nearest toll gate or petrol station off the highway to park the vehicle.
The accused make use of the dim light on the highway after nightfall to strike at unsuspecting travellers, who park their vehicles on the road, the official said.
The Mandya district police has deployed four highway patrol vehicles and special mobile vehicles to patrol the highway.
The travellers can contact either 112 for emergency assistance or 1033, which is a toll free helpline number launched by National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).
