Bengaluru, Sept 19: Nearly three months after the arrest of a notorious chain-snatcher, the Bengaluru police have managed to catch his wife, who had set the target of snatching at least three chains a day. With the arrest of this couple, the police have solved over one hundred chain snatching cases.
31-year-old Achyuth Kumar and his 28-year-old wife Mahadevi have reportedly confessed to their crimes. Following the wife’s order, the obedient husband had allegedly snatched at least 106 cases in last seven months, not only in Bengaluru but also in other parts of Karnataka.
The jurisdictional police have recovered stolen jewellery worth Rs 1.05 crore from their house at Kumbalagodu near Kengeri. Mahadevi had, in fact, purchased scales to weigh the ornaments, which she used to melt at home and sell.
Mahadevi is a Mahadevi indeed. “She made regular trips to Goa and stayed at resorts. Her travel craze prompted Achyuth to buy two swanky SUVs and five bikes,” said a senior police officer.
In June this year police had arrested Achyuth after opening fire on him. But Mahadevi, the woman behind the notorious snatcher, had gone missing since then. According to police, after husband’s arrest, Mahadevi disguised herself as a maid and took shelter at an orphanage in Nagamangala taluk of Mandya district. She was finally traced by police on Monday.
A native of Koliwad in Hubballi, Achyuth Kumar alias Vishwanath Koliwad was a small-time thief. He turned a habitual chain-snatcher after marrying Mahadevi. “At the time of marriage, he lied to Mahadevi that he was a realtor. But when she got to know of his criminal background, she reportedly told him that she does not care about his profession, but wants to lead a lavish life. In fact, she coaxed him into chain-snatching,” the officer said.
Beginning with one chain a day, Achyuth was soon given a revised target of three by Mahadevi. "Else, she would not allow him to enter the house. The duo used to shift houses often to avoid suspicion by neighbours about their lifestyle,” another police officer who was part of the probe revealed.
Achyuth later spread out to other districts like Davangere, Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag, Tumakuru and Bengaluru. The couple had sold gold chains to jewellers in Koppal and Gadag.
Bengaluru City Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar announced Rs 1 lakh reward to constable Chandra Kumar of Jnanabharati Police station who chased Achyuth during regular patrol. When Achyuth retaliated, he was shot in the leg.
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