Last year, there were 5036 cyber crime complaints received by the Bengaluru police. This year, and it’s just in its sixth month, and already 4350 complaints have been registered and counting. Some of the recent cases involved residents from Kasavanahalli and Koramangala. And both these cases were identity thefts.
THE KORAMANGALA CASE OF ATM FRAUD
Twenty-seven-year-old Raghavendra R needed Rs 400 urgently. However, the vendors were not accepting e-wallets. Therefore, he rushed to the nearest ATM in Ramamurthy Nagar and withdrew Rs 400. Three days later, while he was gymmin, he received two SMS-es that someone had withdrawn Rs 10000 and Rs 7000 from the same ATM in Rammurthy Nagar. Having realised that he was defrauded, he rushed to the Bank of India office who said they would take 90 days to resolve his complaint and also advised him to file a case with the Cyber Crime police station.
“I had Rs 18000 in the bank,” Raghavendra told Residents Watch. “They withdrew Rs 17000. After this fraud, I heard from another friend that someone known to him was defrauded the same way. Unfortunately, I had the old ATM card without the chip. Now, I have taken the one with the chip.”
THE KASAVANAHALLI CASE OF CREDIT CARD FRAUD
On May 4, 38-year-old Neelam Podar’s phone was switched off at 11.24pm. When she switched it on at 11.55pm, she was flooded with transaction alert messages. “My credit card was hacked and I reached out to the bank and blocked it,” she told this channel. However, the damage was done. She was defrauded of Rs 64088.
On June 2, at around 11.30pm, 23-year-old Mallesh, the security guard at Siddhartha Convention Hall in Sector 2, HSR Layout, was allegedly assaulted by one Naveen who claimed to be a former manager at the wedding hall.
At 11pm, Naveen apparently asked the security guard to let him enter the premises as he was a former employee, but the guard stood his ground by saying that his higher-ups should say so first. Naveen broke the lock and entered the premises despite the warning by pushing aside the guard in addition to mouthing expletives and giving him a death threat.
The cops have charged Naveen on four counts for causing mischief, criminal intimidation, trespassing, and intentional insult.
It pays to install CCTVs in homes and always having someone at home to guard it if you go by the recent spate of robberies in HSR Layout. Between May 29 and June 3, there were police reports of two vehicle thefts and four robberies. That’s six incidents in six days. From robbing an Ayurvedic centre to three domestic homes, it is a spate of robberies. Could it be one gang operating in the area? Nothing conclusive on that yet.
FIRST INCIDENT
The first incident of robbery occurred between 3am on May 28 and 11.30pm on May 29 on 24th Main, 13th Cross, Sector 1. Forty-six-year-old businessman Pankaj Goel left for Delhi with his family at 3am on May 28. When he returned at 11.30am on May 29, he saw that somebody had broken the window grill and entered his house to steal Rs 4.5 lakh in cash.
SECOND INCIDENT
This occurred in the house of Prashanth (37) staying on the third floor of a house in Sector 2, 23rd Main, 25th A Cross. On May 29, he and his wife left home at 9.45am to go to their office. When the wife returned at 5.30pm, somebody had broken the lock on the front door and stolen six costly watches, including Esprit, Fossil, Titan, Giordino, a Canon camera and his car’s spare key.
THIRD INCIDENT
Between May 30 at 9.30pm and May 31 at 6.30am, someone broke into Healing Earth multispeciality Ayurveda centre on Outer Ring Road in Sector 5. They stole a Sony TV and Rs 1.5 lakh cash. Someone had broken into the centre through the rear window and took away Rs 1.5 lakh from the chairman’s cabin and a TV in the waiting room.
FOURTH INCIDENT
On June 3, items worth Rs 30,000 were stolen from the courtyard of Geeta Dhir staying on 4th Main in Sector 6. Some of the things stolen included a wall fan, gymnasium set, home theatre, water motor, mobile phone, copper wires and metal utensils, among others. According to her, the theft occurred between 7am and 8.30am.
FIRST INCIDENT OF TWO-WHEELER THEFT On May 29, at around 10pm, businessman Pragma Reddy (25) parked his Honda Dio (KA51EH1515) worth Rs 45,000 in front of his house in 14th Cross, 3rd Main, Sector 6. When he woke up on May 30 at around 5am, the bike was nowhere to be seen.
SECOND INCIDENT OF TWO-WHEELER THEFT On May 3, at around 10pm, G Harshavardhan parked his Pulsar AS 150 (KA41EF1987) inside his house gate in 11th Cross, Sector 7. He left for Hyderabad to attend his wedding. When he returned on May 16 at around 10am, the bike was nowhere to be seen. Strangely, the police complaint was filed only on May 31, 2019.
For more bike thefts between May 17 and May 19, you could read this report.
For all the thefts and robberies reported above, the cops have collected the CCTV footage from the neighbouring houses and shops to nab the thieves.
Once the LT project is complete, this will not be necessary!80% of laying these low tension bunched cables are complete in HSR Layout
The Bangalore Electric Supply Company (BESCOM) has now announced a Rs 5300 crore multi-phased project for different neighbourhoods of Bangalore, including HSR Layout. What this means is that all the high tension cables running above the ground will go below the surface to avoid electrocution, short-circuits and power tripping. Even more fascinating is that the roads will not be dug up incessantly; only holes will be made every few metres in what is called a ‘high definition digging mechanism’. The three-phased project has HSR in the first phase. If all goes well, the project slated to begin from July 2019 should be completed in 18 months.
Last year, the Bangalore Electric Supply Company (BESCOM) initiated a project across HSR Layout to install low tension aerial bunched cables across HSR Layout. These are the wires that are drawn to all the residential lanes. This project is about 70-80% complete. The remaining work is yet to be done as the work awaits further funds for it. Once installed, the cables will not be hazardous to trees or people even if you touch them as they will be heavily insulated from the elements. They will be electrocution-free. Which means, the power won’t be shutdown even when it rains.
According to Bescom officials, about 20% work is yet to be done on the low tension lines, the major part of the pending work being in Sector 1. Once the funds come in, it will only take a few months to complete the project.
Celebrate World Environment Day. Run for a Greener HSR and Bangalore. The organisers of Super Run tomorrow at BBMP Grounds in HSR Layout, Sector 2, are asking everyone to come forward and take part in this event to make it a thumping success.
The registration fee of Rs 499 includes a T-shirt, breakfast, medal and certificate. There are two categories: 3K Run & 5K Run. For each category, there are three winners in male, female and kids divisions. The winners get trophies too.
Timing: Report at 5.30am as the run starts at 6am.
The people who are registering for the run can collect the T-shirt at the venue itself. Go with your friends and family and run for joy and health to celebrate World Environment Day (June 5). The event is presented by SuperSeva Services Pvt Ltd.
Congestion is going to continue on 24th Main Road for the next fortnight as the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is laying a pipeline from Lotus Hospital to KPTCL junction.
While the pipeline is now laid from Lotus Hospital to KPTCL junction, the levelling of the road is only pending now. BWSSB officials informed us that the asphalting work of the dug up stretch will take up two weeks to complete.
What is throwing a spanner in the works are the rains. The work was supposed to have finished by now but for the rain gods. Expect traffic jams during peak hours, particularly in front of Purva Fairmont on 24th Main and at the KPTCL junction. It’s best to avoid that area between 6pm and 9pm as we come across jams around this time.
In the last few months, there is some tussle between the Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) and the garbage contractors. KCDC is refusing to take leachette alongwith the garbage that is given to it. It’s contention is that it is commercial waste being given to them when the truth, according to BBMP officials, is that it is very much residential waste. KCDC still wants the contractors to reduce the leachette at source before handing over the wet waste to them. However, the garbage contractors feel that it’s practically impossible to do so, particularly when it rains.
“Since the rains are here; the leachette is more due to the water percolating into the waste bins kept outside for collection,” said one BBMP official. “We have been convincing the KCDC officials that it is indeed residential waste and leachette is part and parcel of it.”
Earlier, lorries used to deposit waste at KCDC. Now, that process is streamlined to avoid any outside waste from entering the premises. Only domestic vehicles are now being used to usher in more transparency and accountability.
In addition, one tonne of daily waste is being composted by the lane composters installed at ten locations across HSR Layout and at the Swachagraha Kalika Kendra. That’s equivalent to composting wet waste from over 200 households. In addition, several residents have opted for home composting, further reducing the waste generation from HSR Layout.
The garbage contractors feel that some days, KCDC accepts the waste and on other days, it rejects or raises doubts. “There is no end to their suspicions. When we do really good work, they suspect our motives, and when others do really bad work, they think it’s allright,” said one garbage supervisor.
For now, the intake at KCDC has also come down from 150 tonnes to 60 tonnes due to mounting pressure from the public and the elected representatives. Wet waste is only collected from all the wards of Bommanahalli assembly constituency and two wards of BTM Layout constituency.
According to BBMP officials, the waste from seven wards of South Bangalore constituency is sent to another composting plant in Chikkanagamangala that processes 100-150 tonnes of waste every day. For all these reasons, the situation at KCDC has stabilised now. “We have no problems with KCDC after holding a few talks on this matter,” said one garbage supevisor. “However, the KCDC has not stopped questioning us even if there is a little more leachette than usual. We have to keep telling them that it’s the rains.”
Following the statement to us by BBMP Commissioner Manjunatha Prasad that the basement shops will be shutdown after May 23, it is now learnt that the BBMP is getting ready for this massive operation. As it requires a systematic way of conducting the operation without fear or favour, there needs to be some amount of planning. For this project, political will is not an issue as the action is ordered by the Karnataka High Court.
Enough time has already been given – more than three months – for all the shops to relocate from the basements. Ofcourse, there are many new shops coming up in the basements as the landlords are openly sceptical about BBMP’s real motives. However, they fail to see that they are violating a 1976 law. The real sufferers will be all those new tenants in basements, and here is where their ignorance will lead to financial losses.
Speaking to Residents Watch, Dr A Soujanya, Joint Commissioner, Bommanahalli, said: “We will begin the basement shutdowns soon. We have just resumed our work after the elections. We will have a meeting, prepare the time table and chalk out our next steps.”
It sure seems like the thieves of two wheelers appear to be quite busy on weekends in HSR Layout. Take the last fortnight for example. In the space of three days, three different bike thefts occurred across HSR Layout. In an earlier incident that occurred in Sector 3, the thief (only his back is towards the CCTV) was seen pushing the bike away from the parked area in front of Subramanya temple on 18th Cross. The bike happened to be that of the priest. This could well be the modus operandi of all the thefts that happened last fortnight as well.
Twenty-six-year-old Darshan, a resident of Electronic City, works at the Idea store as a manager in Sector 1, HSR Layout. On May 17, at around 10am, he had parked his Hero Glamour (KA51EW2878) in front of the store. However, at 5pm, the bike was nowhere to be seen.
Thirty-year-old PR Harish, a resident of Sector 6, parked his Royal Enfield Classic 350 (TS08FW2998) in front of his house at around 11.30pm. At around 1am, when he woke up, he realised that the bike was missing from its designated spot. Strangely, the FIR on the theft was registered three days later on May 22.
INCIDENT 3 Sunday, MAY 19, 2019 Time of theft: 5pm-8.30pm Location: In front of Third Wave Coffee Roasters, 14th Main, Sector 7, HSR Layout
Twenty-five-year-old engineer Sharath Oommen parked his Honda Activa (KA51ED5995) at 5pm in front of the Coffee Roaster outlet at 5pm only to find it missing at 8.30pm when he returned. After a frantic search and asking around for its whereabouts, this resident of Hosapalya in HSR extension realised that it was stolen. The very next day, a police complaint of theft was registered by the HSR cops.
The alleged thief on the blue bikeThe alleged thief with a pillion rider
On May 24, at around 12.15pm, a house was burgled in Sector 1, HSR Layout. Gold worth Rs 2 lakh was stolen. The thief was allegedly caught on CCTV, wearing a black tee and blue jeans while riding a blue bike.
According to the FIR lodged at the HSR Layout police station, resident Manjeet Kakoti (30) of 14th Cross, 21st A Main, found his first floor house burgled between 12.15pm and 12.45pm when nobody was at home. The items stolen included Rs 15,000 cash, three gold chains, two pairs of gold earrings, two gold finger rings, one gold locket and one gold coin.
When Manjeet checked the CCTV footage of his neighbours, he was able to capture the thief’s photograph. Only, the number plate was not visible. He also enquired with a paan shop vendor nearby who was able to recognise the alleged thief from the photo. “He said that this person was coming to his shop for the last four days between 12pm and 1pm. He used to order a cigarette and tea, and then would give a missed call. One more person would arrive soon after, and both would have tea before they departed.”
In the CCTV footage from Pratham Motors on 17th Cross, Manjeet found the thief on the blue bike surveying the area between 11.45am and 12.15pm. Manjeet also checked the CCTV footage of the other neighbours and found that there was another person in a yellow tshirt riding pillion with him. “By the time, he came to my house, the pillion rider was missing,” says Manjeet.
What puzzles Manjeet further is that when he and his family had gone out of town for four days, no theft had taken place. However, when his wife had just ordered for a cab at 12pm to pick up their three-year-old son from school, and came home by 12.30pm, the thieves had broken the lock on his main door and stolen the gold jewellery. Interestingly, all the silver and electronic items were left intact. Hie iphone, laptop and a costly DSLR professional camera were untouched. “The cops say that this is not the work of a gang, but someone who closely knows me,” says Manjeet.
The HSR police have registered a case of theft (IPC 380) and house-breaking (IPC 454), and are investigating.
A scary incident occurred recently to a woman software engineer who was kidnapped in the afternoon near Silk Board.
On Monday, April 1, 2019, around 1.45pm, 24-year-old Sushmita Dixit was kidnapped by five people travelling in a car near Vishal Mega Mart on Hosur Road near Central Silk Board.
Employed with Accenture, she had a job interview at Capgemini. Her father dropped her at Silk Board from where she took an Ola cab at 11am. When she reached Capgemini, she was told that the interview was postponed to the next day. She took an auto and got down at Silk Board. That was around 1.45pm.
Suddenly, she felt something hurting her neck. Before she could realise what was happening, some strangers had dragged her into a stationary car. By the time she gathered herself, she was seated in the car’s backseat, and was being told by one stranger that she should procure a few things from Anand Emmanuel, her office colleague at Accenture, namely some documents relating to a few drugs, web camera, and fingerprint scanner. They kept taking her around the city while threatening her with dire consequences if she does not agree to do their bidding. She lost consciousness soon after.
When she woke up at 9.30pm, she was lyding down on the roadside in front of Nandi Grand near Hoskote. Passersby took her in an ambulance to the Silicon City hospital in Hoskote where she was treated. In the car, there were five people, including the driver.
Though the incident occurred on April 1, the police complaint was filed at the HSR Layout police station only on May 17, 2019. The cops have filed several charges against the culprits for criminal intimidation, intentional insult, kidnapping and causing hurt.
With the ring road traffic using HSR Layout as a transit route, many accidents are taking place in HSR Layout. The area around Freedom International School, Greens Bar, Sweet Chariot, Mantri Apt and Coffee Day are the latest accident hotspots where severe injuries have taken place. Here is a rundown of each of the incidents where the damages were grievous.
LOCATION: In front of Cafe Coffee Day, near petrol bunk, 19th Main, HSR Layout
On February 7, 2019, 18-year-old Evaditya Singh, a resident of AECS Layout, was hit by a 42-year-old lorry driver at around 8am. At the time, Evaditya had rented a snooty pep and was riding from Agara towards Banashankari. In the same direction, a lorry driver rode negligently and came to a halt right next to the rider near the 19th Main Road-Outer Ring Road junction. And then suddenly, when the vehicles were proceeding to cross the junction, the lorry driver swerved to the left, hitting the rider, who fell and broke his hip bone. He was rushed to Sakra hospital for treatment. The lorry driver is booked for rash driving (279) and for causing grievous injury (338).
LOCATION: Near Freedom International School, 14th Main junction, Outer Ring Road
Hemanth, a 24-year-old rider of Honda Activa was hit by Srinath Elikod, a rider of Pulsar on February 20 at around 4pm.
He was on his lab collection drive from Outer Ring Road towards Greenview Hospital. When he was nearing 14th Main Road junction near Freedom International School, a rider on a Bajaj Pulsar bumped him from behind while allegedly driving rashly on the road. The result was that Hemanth fell on the road along with the bike, badly injuring his right shoulder. The Pulsar driver took the victim to the hospital for prompt treatment. The cops have registered a case of rash driving under IPC 279 and causing grievous hurt (338).
LOCATION: In front of Greens Bar & Restaurant, Agara down ramp
On February 17, at around 10.40pm, 35-year-old pedestrian L Seetharamaiah was hit by the rider of a Bajaj Avenger. He was immediately taken to the nearby Columbia Asia hospital for immediate treatment. He was not able to speak properly after the accident. The eye witnesses had to inform the victim’s elder brother L Ramakrishna about what happened. Apparently, Seetharamaiah was trying to cross the road in front of Greens Bar towards the military camp when a vehicle coming from the side of Agara and moving towards Iblur hit him while driving rashly. The victim suffered injuries on his head, both the legs, and back. The cops have registered a case of rash driving under IPC 279 and causing grievous hurt (338). For not attending to the victim, the motorcyclist whose face and vehicle registration number was captured by a nearby CCTV camera is charged with punishment that could extend by up to three months.
LOCATION: 5th Main, near Vasudev Adigas
Both the rider and passenger on a two wheeler were injured on February 21, 2019 when they were travelling at around 9.15am on their TVS bike. They were moving from Mangammanapalya towards Sweet Chariot near 5th Main junction when a car coming from Vasudev Adigas hit them on the frontside. Both the riders suffered a broken leg. The car driver rushed them to the hospital by arranging an ambulance that took them to the nearby NH Narayana hospital. The rash car driver was identified as Vivekananda Shanmugham, a resident of Doddanekkundi. The cops have registered a case of rash driving under IPC 279 and causing grievous hurt (338).
LOCATION: Iblur Park, Outer Ring Road
On Sunday, February 17, 2019, a 25-year-old two-wheeler rider was hit by a cab at around 7.25am. Virupaksha was grievously hurt when 27-year-old Maruthi Kumar hit him near the BMTC bus depot without giving any forewarning that he was moving his stationery vehicle to the right and proceeding towards Sarjapur Road. The motorcycle was hit on the left, leading to the rider suffering grievous injury to the head, and unable to speak. With the help of the passersby, traffic constable Mohan K rushed the victim in an autorickshaw to the nearby Columbia Asia hospital. The cops have registered a case of rash driving under IPC 279 and causing grievous hurt (338).
LOCATION: Mantri Sarovar Apt, Sector 1
On February 14, at around 10pm, 23-year-old Shivanna was grievously injured when he was hit by a motorcyclist. The incident occurred when he was travelling from Silk Board junction towards Outer Ring Road near Muneshwara temple in HSR Layout. Near Mantri Sarovar apartment, the accident occurred when Shivanna was taking a turn to the right by another motorcyclist Rohith who was coming from the same side. Rohith took the victim to Greenview hospital. Later, he was shifted to two other hospitals before coming being sent to Nimhans hospital for treatment. The cops have registered a case of rash driving under IPC 279 and causing grievous hurt (338).
Location: Bellandur Bus stop, ORR
On February 17, at around 5pm, 30-year-old Manjusha R riding a Honda scooter was hit fatally by Rajiv Kumar (40), the driver of a Maruti Ertiga. The incident occurred when a BMTC bus slowed down in front of Golden Apartment near the Bellandur bus stand. The driver of Maruti Swift behind the bus also slowed down. Manjusha following behind the Swift slowed down as well. However, the Ertiga car rashly driven by Rajiv Kumar hit Manjusha as he was not able to control his speeding vehicle. This resulted in her death on the way to Sakra hospital. The cops have registered a case of causing death by negligence, indulging in rash driving, and imprisonment of upto three months.
