TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The real life ‘Bunty-Babli’, who are presently cooling their heels behind bars for stealing cell phones, have confessed to the police that they wanted to make some easy money.
The young married couple ~Akshay Bhike (18) and Sulochana (22) had eloped after their parents reportedly disapproved of their plans to get married.
According to the police, both met while Sulochana was undergoing computer training after completing her Class 12th and Akshay, a school drop out was working with a soft drinks delivery truck.
“They eloped from Goa and married in Sawantwadi in 2012. They returned to Goa and the couple stayed at Sulochana’s house at Mapusa for some days before shifting to Betim,” said an official.
Akshay used to sell tender coconuts outside the Mapusa district hospital with his father before eloping with the girl to Maharashtra.
Young, unemployed, and prepared to try his luck with the law, to make a quick buck, both got into cell phones thefts. “They are also involved in cheating cases. They became overconfident after cheating gullible people and minting money. They later got into phone thefts,” said an official.
Police said their modus operandi was ~ they would both get out on a bike and Akshay would slow down the two-wheeler and ask a passerby, holding expensive cell phone, to allow them to make an emergency call. They would then flee with the cell phone. If the person refused to hand over his/her phone, Sulochana, the pillion, would snatch it.
The accused would also impersonate as tourists and dupe people on the pretext that they have no money to go back to their native place.
A preliminary inquiry has disclosed that the duo has nearly half a dozen cheating and mobile phone snatching cases registered against them at various police stations.
Three expensive phones have been recovered from their possession as of now. Police are trying to find out whether they are wanted in other cases as well.
