During questioning, cops learned that a gang of 40 pickpockets were at the stadium to target cricket fans during the India-England match
During questioning, cops learned that a gang of 40 pickpockets were at the stadium to target cricket fans during the India-England match
Quizzing a youth at the Chinnaswamy stadium on Sunday for suspicious behaviour led to the arrest of a gang of four pickpockets at the India-England match. However, the police realised later that the four youths they had nabbed were just a small part of a much larger operation. 
Wild card entry: The gang entered the stadium after purchasing tickets
from Indian fans who left the stadium before the match got over. File pic
Bharatinagar, PSI, Byra who was on security duty at gate no. 4, confronted a youth who had been loitering around the food court and asked him for some identification. The youth said that his name was Manjunath and he had come from Gadag district to watch the match.
When the cop asked him to name the captain of the Indian cricket team and tell him how many players were on each team, he said that Sachin Tendulkar was the captain and that a cricket team consisted of nine players.
Byra and some other cops on duty overpowered Manjunath and upon frisking, recovered a wallet with cash and credit cards belonging to a businessman from Kerala, and a mobile phone.
On being questioned by Byra's seniors, Manjunath informed them that he along with 40 gang members arrived in the city a day before the match and then formed eight batches to cover various gates at the stadium.
He and his three gang members were stationed at gate no. 4, and they entered the stadium after purchasing tickets for Rs 500 and Rs 200 from Indian fans who were leaving the stadium after the first half. The gang then zeroed in on targets thronging the food court and targetted a few spectators before Manjunath was caught by Byra.
ACP, B B Ashok Kumar asked Manjunath to call his associates over the phone on the pretext of wanting help with a target, and soon the remaining three pickpockets were also nabbed. The other accused have been identified as Santosh, 19, Basavraj, 46 and Anand, 36.
Kumar said that there were still over 30 members of this gang stalking the city, and added that they are trying to trace them using their mobile numbers.
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