PANAJI: Pernem police on Monday busted an interstate gang of robbers targeting tourists in Goa.
On Sunday, police received a complaint from a resident of Chennai stating that he was waylaid by four persons — two male and two female — who robbed him of Rs 24,000, his wallet and luggage containing his documents.
The four picked him up at Dabolim airport on the pretext of dropping him to a hotel in Ponda, but instead took him to Pernem where they assaulted him and threatened him with dire consequences before robbing him, the victim B Ajith Kumar, 22, stated in his complaint.
Police said that the gang would trap their victims by way of a helpline number for booking hotels that they had put up on the internet. The victim, who had come to Goa to answer an exam, had found this number.
SP Shobhit Saxena said that the car was identified leading to the identification of accused Deependar Singh, 20, resident of Majhiyari in Madhya Pradesh. A team led by police inspector Jivba Dalvi detained Singh at Calangute.
During the course of investigation, Singh disclosed the names of his associates — Jyoti Pralhad Soni, Anjilika Mukesh Jaiswal and Biki Barik — all of whom have been apprehended.
