High drama prevailed at Gudupalle mandal in Kuppam on Sunday following the arrest of three members of a rice-pulling gang, operating along villages bordering with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
According to the Deputy SP (Palamaner), based on a complainant, Naveen from Tirupattur of Tamil Nadu that he was cheated by a rice-puller gang in Kuppam, the police swung into action and took three men, all from Karnataka, into custody. “We received the complaint several days ago from Naveen. Acting on a tip-off, we took three members of the inter-State rice pulling gang into custody,” the Deputy SP said. The modus operandi of the gang was to lure villagers at the tri-State junction with rice-puller objects, collecting huge amounts.
In this process, the gang was carrying a vessel (rice-puller) to be handed over to a client, but was reportedly attacked by a rival gang and the object was taken away. “At present, we do not have any information about the nature of the vessel and the alleged attack. It is all confusing now. We have launched a full-fledged inquiry into the episode,” the official said.
Meanwhile, responding to the allegations against the sub-inspector (Gudupalle) that he had connived with the gang over deals running into ₹2 crores, the Deputy SP said: “The sub-inspector neither attended the duty nor applied for leave today. His phone is switched off. We are inquiring into the allegations.”