Two Jharkhand gangs busted in Bangalore recently recruited minors for Rs 5,000 per trip to the city to steal high-end mobile phones,police investigation has revealed. The gangs were found in possession of 46 such phones. Their target was to steal at least one phone a day using the kids,police said. They said many gangs from Jharkhand recruited juveniles to steal mobiles in Bangalore. In the past month,KP Agrahara police arrested six adults and eight juveniles and Malleshwaram police two adults and one juvenile for stealing phones. Investigation of the two cases revealed the gangs arrived in the city before festivals and assigned minors specific areas to commit offences. The juveniles would steal phones and hand them over to gang leaders who organised their travel,food and accommodation. The minors arrested so far were aged 10 to 17 years,police said. They said juveniles were used as they could easily escape. Sources said police tended to go easy on minors that helped such gangs remain undetected. People too avoid lodging complaints if juveniles are caught stealing. City police have already arrested two gangs from Jharkhand. There may be more and we are looking for them, Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Hemanth Nimbalkar said. KP Agrahara police said this week they had nabbed 14 people,including eight juveniles,for mobile thefts. Most gang members were related to each other,they said. Police said the gang members would come to the city by train and return after stealing a large number of mobiles,which would be sold in their home towns. They will stay in the city for 15 days. Police have sent all arrested juveniles home after issuing warnings to their unaware parents, a police officer said.
