A man who was the head of a gang which stole 1 lakh rupees from Sandalwood actor Vinod Raj was reportedly caught by Nelamangala police on Thursday.
The accused, identified as Samson alias Ojikuppam Raju, a native of Andhra Pradesh, along with other members, planned and stole the cash from Vinod on September 28. Vinod had reportedly just withdrawn the cash to pay the workers at his orchard, upon leaving the bank and getting into his car, he was approached by a boy who told him his car had a flat tire. Subsequently another man also approached him and informed him that he had a punctured tire. As Vinod began to focus on repairing the tire, other members of the gang came and stole the bag containing the cash, fleeing the scene after nabbing the cash.
Nelamangala police reviewed CCTV footage to narrow in on Samson as the culprit and acting on a tip-off were able to apprehend him.
The gang hails from Ojikuppam in Andhra Pradesh and it has been said that this is their method of action. Samson told the police that the gang targeted people coming out of banks. One person would approach the targeted individual and engage them in a conversation, while the others would steal the money. The gang would later split the stolen money amongst themselves.
An officer told news media that a special investigations team of police officers from Andhra Pradesh are on the lookout for his accomplices, who are believed to have fled to the state.