2 Held for robbing people at marriage halls, 53 sovereigns recovered

They dressed up well and attended marriage ceremonies held in grand marriage halls as relatives of either the bride or the groom. And, when nobody was looking, they slipped away with valuables.

S Bakar and M Udhayakumar of Kosapet in Vellore had a free run as wedding crashers, till luck ran out a few days ago.

After a long, meticulous investigation and search for the notorious duo, the long arm of law finally caught up with them.

Baskar and UdhayaKumar landed in the police net three days ago. Now, the two are cooling their heels behind bars at the Vellore Central Prison for Men.

The Viruthampet Police nabbed Baskar and Udhayakumar after tracking the international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) number of a mobile phone that they had stolen from one of their victims, Sathyanarayana of Chennai.

The duo in their second attempt robbed 19 sovereign gold jewels and a mobile from Sathyanarayana when he had come to attend one of his relatives’ marriage held in a marriage hall at Katpadi on February 26.

“The duo dress up well and go to marriage ceremonies held in grand marriage halls in the guise of being friends or relatives of either the bride or the groom. They stay back and keep a close watch on their target and strike during midnight or early morning when everyone is fast asleep. After looting, they disappear with the valuables,” said one of the police officers in the investigation team.

The duo first struck in a marriage held at Katpadi on September 1, 2011, and escaped with 16 sovereign gold jewels from Kumari of Tiruchy. They also looted 16 sovereign gold ornaments from R Jayaprakash of Arni on April 29, 2011, besides snatching four sovereign gold jewels from Dhanalakhmi, when the victim was walking along a Petrol Bunk Road in Kalpudur on June 10 this year.

The wedding video tapes came in handy for the police team in identifying the suspects in the robbery cases. Cracking the modus operandi of the duo, police collected the video tapes. “The videos tapes were helpful to nab the culprits. We have recovered a total of 53 sovereign of stolen gold ornaments and a mobile phone from the duo. They have been robbing persons in and around Katpadi for the past two years,” said Superintendent of Police I Eswaran. On interrogation, they spilled the beans and said that they had pledged the stolen gold and spent the money on liquor, dresses and illegal activities. They never went to work, Eswaran said.