Crime's new face: Techies held for robbery

A six-member gang, including three techies, who had been allegedly kidnapping their counterparts for ransom, was arrested in Bangalore on Saturday.
Two cars, lethal weapons, Rs 4 lakh, six cellphones and fake explosive devices have been seized from the arrested, whom the police identified as D K Kiran (26), Muniram (32), Praveen (25), Rajkumar (28), Sandesh (25) and Bharath Amla (40).
Among the arrested Muniram, Sandesh alias Soodesh and Amla are engineering graduates, while Kiran holds a bachelor degree in tourism and hospitality.
According to city police commssioner N Achuta Rao, the modus operandi of the gang was to kidnap software engineers, tie fake explosives around their waist and demand hefty ransom threatening them if they fail to pay up, they would be killed activating remote-controlled "bomb".
According to preliminary investigations, the gang had successfully collected ransom from two techies, but bowed to their threats and did not lodge complaint.
On May 27, the gang stopped the car of Srinivas, a senior consultant in Mind Tree Company at 1100 am while he was on his way to office and bundled him to their car.
The gang threatened him of dire consequences if he did not pay Rs 80 lakh and forcibly took Rs 1.15 cash and a cheque for Rs 30,000.
The gang continued to harass him for more money and threatened that if he lodges a complaint, he would be killed.