Accused in Bilikere petrol bunk dacoity arrested

Five suspects arrested in Mysuru for a petrol bunk dacoity, involving threats and theft of ₹15,300.

All five persons involved in the shocking dacoity that took place in a petrol bunk on Gaddige Road in Bilikere on the outskirts of Mysuru on February 12 have been arrested.

Addressing a press conference in Mysuru on Monday, Superintendent of Mysuru district police Mallikarjun Baladandi said the accused had come in a car, threatened the two employees of the petrol bunk with a knife before extorting ₹15,300 and subsequently, fleeing the spot.

The police arrested the main accused, identified as Lakshman from Mandya, on March 6. During his interrogation, it was revealed that the other accused were Kiran from Hassan, Umesh from Hunsur and Rakshit and Jayant from Channapatna.

Though the five accused hailed from different districts, they met at the Mandya jail, where they had been lodged in connection with different cases, including robbery and murder. The five of them hatched the dacoity plan when they were in jail and executed it after beind released.

While the Mysuru district police had arrested three of them, two others had been arrested in connection with a robbery case registered by Harohalli police in Bengaluru South district, in which they had extorted money from a taxi driver after booking a ride on a ride-hailing app.

During the last two months, Mr. Baladandi said the Mysuru district police had solved one dacoity case, two robbery cases, seven house thefts, five vehicle thefts and other other thefts, besides one cattle theft case.