The Rajarajeshwari Nagar police on Thursday arrested a gang of three men for allegedly breaking into houses and recovered valuable items worth ₹28 lakh from them. The accused have been identified as Vinod Raj, Saleem Rafiq and Bilal Mondal.
According to the police, the trio are habitual offenders and met at Parappana Agrahara while serving sentences for previous crimes. “They teamed up in prison. Four months ago, after getting bail, they decided to return to a life of crime,” said the police. Vinod Raj was assigned to recce and identify locked houses. His role was to provide logistical support.
Saleem and Bilal were in Mumbai, but flew down to Bengaluru and stayed with him after he identified a house RR Nagar. They broke into the house on March 26 while the family was away and made off with valuables.
Based on a complaint filed by the family, the police analysed CCTV footage from in and around the area, identified Raj and arrested him. Based on his confession, the police arrested Saleem and Bilal who were still in Bengaluru. They recovered the gold and silver items worth ₹28 lakh from them. The police also seized a car and a motorcycle from Raj, which he reportedly used to survey neighbourhoods.
