'Booked rooms, bought RCB jerseys, stole passes': Jharkhand man led minors’ team to steal phones during IPL opener

BENGALURU: It was a well-stitched plot, off field. An 11-member gang of thieves from Jharkhand came to Bengaluru by air and train two days before IPL inaugural, booked rooms, bought RCB jerseys, stole complimentary passes, surveyed gates and pavilions before pulling off a mobile phone heist at packed Chinnasway Stadium on Saturday night.

More than 25 handsets were gone in seconds.Cubbon Park police, piecing together the sequence of events based on complaints and CCTV footage, acted equally fast. Within 48 hours, they nabbed four members of the gang, including 26-year-old mastermind Shubham Kumar, and seized 21 mobile phones worth Rs 18 lakh from them. Investigations said most gang members were minors. Police are looking for seven more suspects in the case.Shubham was arrested from a hotel near Shivajinagar late Monday night. Based on his statement, cops picked up three minors and recovered mobile phones. Investigations said Shubham had sponsored air tickets for two minors and train journey for others. "We suspect Shubham is running a mobile-theft racket with minors," a police officer said.

Investigations said the gang had bought RCB jerseys to melt into the crowd, stole complimentary passes from spectators to gain entry into the stadium and stone mobile phones when fans rushed to buy food during intervals or were exiting the stadium after the match.

Phones were stolen mostly from Gates 1, 2 and 3 of the stadium and P3 stand. A few phones were stolen taking advantage of the rush at Cubbon Park Metro station. Soon after Saturday's match, mobile-theft complaints poured in by the dozen. Deputy commissioner of police (Central) Akshay M Hakay said they identified the prime suspect with the help of digital evidence. "Kumar and minor associates had smartly picked complimentary passes from spectators waiting near the gates.

As planned, they picked phones near the gates and refreshment counters," he said.A few kids in ‘RCB jersey' were caught stealing mobile phones near refreshment areas during breaks. "My husband, too, lost his phone at the P3 stand. Many others were also complaining of losing phones. We lodged a complaint with Cubbon Park police. And we found many more people were filing similar complaints," a woman spectator said.Police said they studied similar cases reported from Chepauk Stadium in Chennai and Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. "Since there were many complaints from P3 Stand, we scanned the CCTV footage and zeroed in on a few suspects, including Kumar," an officer said.