BENGALURU: The mysterious case of missing cricket kits belonging to Delhi Capitals IPL team has been cracked with the arrest of a truck driver and his assistant who had been hired to transport the players’ bags to the airport after the April 15 match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Police have recovered the stolen materials.
M Cheluvaraju, 30, of Challaghatta near Kengeri, and his assistant Sudanshu Kumar Naik, 30, of Sampangiram Nagar told police that they wanted to use the bats and other equipment to play and that they would have never sold them for money.
Cops have recovered 12 bats, 18 leather balls, four pairs of gloves, two helmets, three pairs of leg pads, two thigh pads, one centre guard, and a bag, all worth around Rs 16 lakh. “The items are in police custody and will be released through court,” a police officer said.
The kit had vanished en route to Kempegowda International Airport from a hotel on Vittal Mallya Road, after which a complaint was registered by Anand Agarwal, managing director of the private firm that was transporting the players’ luggage.
Deputy commissioner of police R Srinivasa Gowda formed a special team led by sub-inspector Bheemasen Ghatage. The team scanned CCTV footage and concluded that the theft had not taken place either at the hotel or the airport. “We found the goods truck driven by Chaluvaraju had stopped at Yelahanka for over 40 minutes before proceeding to KIA… We questioned him and his assistant and found contradictory statements. Finally, they confessed and said that at this particular stop, they had stolen the materials randomly by opening many bags,” an investigating officer said.
According to police, the accused did not think this could become an issue. Police also said the duo claimed they were unaware of who David Warner or the other players were. “We play cricket regularly and decided to steal the bats first. As we opened the bags, we saw other materials and thought we could use them too,” police quoted the accused as saying.
M Cheluvaraju, 30, of Challaghatta near Kengeri, and his assistant Sudanshu Kumar Naik, 30, of Sampangiram Nagar told police that they wanted to use the bats and other equipment to play and that they would have never sold them for money.
Cops have recovered 12 bats, 18 leather balls, four pairs of gloves, two helmets, three pairs of leg pads, two thigh pads, one centre guard, and a bag, all worth around Rs 16 lakh. “The items are in police custody and will be released through court,” a police officer said.
The kit had vanished en route to Kempegowda International Airport from a hotel on Vittal Mallya Road, after which a complaint was registered by Anand Agarwal, managing director of the private firm that was transporting the players’ luggage.
Deputy commissioner of police R Srinivasa Gowda formed a special team led by sub-inspector Bheemasen Ghatage. The team scanned CCTV footage and concluded that the theft had not taken place either at the hotel or the airport. “We found the goods truck driven by Chaluvaraju had stopped at Yelahanka for over 40 minutes before proceeding to KIA… We questioned him and his assistant and found contradictory statements. Finally, they confessed and said that at this particular stop, they had stolen the materials randomly by opening many bags,” an investigating officer said.
According to police, the accused did not think this could become an issue. Police also said the duo claimed they were unaware of who David Warner or the other players were. “We play cricket regularly and decided to steal the bats first. As we opened the bags, we saw other materials and thought we could use them too,” police quoted the accused as saying.
