Kochi: The Kerala police team probing the mobile phone theft spree during the Alan Walker concert in Kochi on October 6 have arrested four people who belong to two separate gangs, the City Police Commissioner Putta Vimaladitya said on Sunday. Two of them were arrested in Delhi and two in Mumbai by members of the special investigation team formed to investigate the case.
Those arrested from Delhi are identified as Atiq Ur Rahman and Waseem Ahammed. They were nabbed from a house at Daryaganj. They have been brought to Kochi and will be produced before the court.
Those arrested from Thane, Mumbai are Sunny Bolo Yadav and Shyam Talwar. The commissioner said two more suspects have been identified and have yet to be arrested. The commissioner said those arrested from Delhi are history sheeters involved in theft and anti-social activities.
The police have seized 20 mobile phones from the Delhi gang and three from Mumbai. It has yet to be verified if they are the same stolen from Kochi. At least 39 mobile phones were stolen from the crowd which had attended the show by the Norwegian DJ.
The police launched the investigation after people who lost their phones reported to the cops. The police extended the probe to other states after they detected the presence of some of the lost phones in Mumbai and Delhi.
The police zeroed in on the Delhi gang after identifying that one of them, who was involved in a similar crime that was reported in Bengaluru earlier, was present in Kochi during the show. The gang from Delhi came to Mumbai by train, and the Mumbai gang flew down to Kochi after booking tickets for the show.
The police have ruled out any connection between the two gangs. However, a detailed investigation has yet to be done. The police said the thieves used to dismantle the gadgets they lifted and sell the parts.
Police sources said the two from Thane were arrested after they returned from attending the Alan Walker show in Pune on October 18. A police team from Kochi will be going to Mumbai to bring them to Kerala. The Mumbai team will likely stay back there and continue the probe for those absconding.
