Gang of Andhra-based women saree thieves arrested

BENGALURU: The Ashok Nagar police have arrested a notorious gang of women who would steal expensive sarees from shopping malls in the city.

They used to come by flight from Andhra Pradesh and decamp with expensive sarees. The arrested accused have been identified as Ramana, Ratnalu and Chukkamma from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.

The accused would come to Bengaluru by flight from Guntur and do the rounds of Bengaluru in a Mahindra Scorpio SUV. Then, they would go to textile shops on the pretext of buying sarees, steal expensive sarees from the shops and flee.

The women thieves used to visiting shops wearing a lot of ornaments pretending to be rich. They would ask to be shown the costliest sarees. After seeing at least ten sarees, they would ask to see other sarees from the stock room. When the staff went inside, they would hide the bundle of sarees and escape.

At one such store, a security guard noticed a part of a saree near one of the women’s leg when they were escaping. He became suspicious and informed the owner. The theft came to light when the owner checked the CCTV footage.

Later, the owner went with the CCTV video and lodged a complaint at the Ashok Nagar police station. The women had committed theft in several places in Bengaluru. The police said that they have stolen sarees worth around Rs 14 lakh.