HASSAN: The KSRTC bus strike helped police bust a gang, which was active since many days in parts of the district. The gang duped women into parting with their gold chains and stealing them, under the pretext of polishing them. A total 8 accused from Bihar, with 5 of them aged between 20 and 30, and remaining between 30 and 40, who are members of a gang, are the accused. All the accused are daily wage earners.
The Hassan police started investigating the case, following a crime that took place on January 29, in a village under Javagal police station limits. At 11.30 am, an accused went near a house, under the pretext of polishing the silver and gold articles in the house. After polishing a silver item, he asked for a gold chain. The woman gave a 50g gold chain to the accused to get polished. The accused soaked it for nearly 30 minutes in a solution, and as the foam was seen to overflow, the owner asked for the chain to be returned, after which the chain was found to be weighing 36g, said a policeman.
“The gang has a leader who stays in Bihar, who collects all the melted gold, and then pays the gang members. On April 10th, while the gang was at the bus stand with their bags and the KSRTC strike was on, we detained them,” said Arsikere DSP Nagesh.