Infamous ‘Chaddi gang’ finally arrested

Mangaluru: The Mangaluru police have taken custody of the ‘Chaddi Gang,’ a group suspected of committing theft and robbery in two parts of Mangaluru.

The arrested are identified as Raju Singwani (24 years), son of Komal Singwani, resident of Vishwanagar, Dhanyavad PS, Raghogarh Taluk, Guna District, Madhya Pradesh, Mayur (30 years), son of Manohar, resident of Gulabganj, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, Bali (22 years), son of Vishnu, resident of Madhavgarh, Ashoknagar, Madhya Pradesh and Vicky (21 years), son of Vikram, resident of Jaganpur Chowk, Kotwali PS, Guna District, Madhya Pradesh.

Case details:

On the early morning of July 9, 2024, around 4:00 AM, four young men, aged between 30 and 40, wearing Bermuda shorts and vests (known as the “Chaddi Gang”), forcibly entered the house of Mr. Victor Mendonca on Kotekani Road in Derebailu village by breaking the window grill. They attacked Mr. Mendonca with an iron rod, causing serious injuries, and also assaulted his wife, Mrs. Patricia Mendonca, with a screwdriver to prevent her from screaming or calling for help. They smashed three mobile phones and stole gold and diamond jewelry worth around Rs 12 lakhs, a Samsung mobile phone, ten branded watches worth Rs 1 lakh, and Rs 3,000 in cash. They fled the scene in the car parked in the house’s veranda. Following a complaint lodged by Mrs. Patricia Mendonsa, a case was registered at Urwa Police Station at 7:00 AM under case number 69/2024, sections 309(6), 331(7), 311, 305, and 3(5) B.N.S.

Upon receiving information about the incident, Urwa Police Station Inspector and staff immediately visited the crime scene and relayed information about the suspects fleeing with the car to the City Control Room. The stolen car was found near Mulki bus stand, and upon reviewing nearby CCTV footage, it was discovered that the suspects had traveled towards Mangalore on a KSRTC bus.

The police contacted KSRTC authorities and obtained details about buses coming from Mulki to Mangalore. Conductors of a bus coming from Bagalkot informed that four individuals had traveled together from Mulki and asked about a bus to Bangalore. Using this information, the details of the bus (number KA-19-F-3575) heading to Bangalore were gathered. The bus was stopped near Sakleshpur by a team led by Sakleshpur DySP, CPI, and other officers, and the four suspects were taken into custody. During interrogation, they confessed to the crime, and all stolen gold, diamond jewelry, watches, and cash were recovered and handed over to Urwa Police authorities.

This swift operation, conducted within just 5 hours of the crime, was carried out under the guidance of Mangalore City Commissioner of Police, Mr. Anupam Agrawal IPS, with directions from DCP (Law and Order) Mr. Siddharth Goyal IPS, and DCP (Crime) Mr. B.P. Dinesh Kumar. The operation was led by ACP of Mangalore Central Division, Mr. Pratap Singh Thorat, and Urwa Police Station Inspector, Mrs. Bharati G., with the assistance of SI Harish H.V., Anita H.B., ASI Vinay Kumar, and staff members Pushparaj, Pramod, Narayan, Satish, Peter, Ramachandra Venkatesh, Abhishek, and Prajwal. The success of the operation was also due to the cooperation of Hassan District SP, Mrs. Mohammad Sujitha IPS, Additional SP Mr. Tamayya M.K., Sakleshpur Sub-Division DySP Mr. Pramod B., Sakleshpur Town PSI Mr. Pramod K.S., and Rural PSI Mr. Sadashiva Tipparaddi, along with staff members Khadar Ali, Sunil, Jagadish, Yogesh, Mulki PSI Mr. Vinayak Bawikatte, and staff members Harishekhar, ASI Kishore Kotian, Chandrashekhar, and Shashidhar.