Bengaluru police hunt down notorious rowdy on run for eight years

Bengaluru: A rowdy who has been on the run for last eight years and his younger brother have been arrested by a special team led by UD Krishna Kumar, assistant commissioner of police (ACP - Kengerigate), police inspector of Jnanabarathi police station Lakshman Naik and sub-inspector Sangana Basappa Rabakavi. The team left no stone unturned for six months to nab him including fixing GPS device on his SUV (Chevrolet Captiva).

Hameed, 35, and his brother Sadiq, 31, are residents of Sir M Vishweshwaraiah Layout in Ullal Upanagar. According to police, Hameed was wanted in 15 cases and was part of the gang of Ullal Karthik who had made Ullal a notorious place for rowdy activities. Hameed was also a drug peddler. He used to procure ganja from other States, store it on the outskirts of the city and sell it to organised network of various sub-peddlers and consumers.

Hameed was allegedly involved in two cases in Jnanabharathi, three in Taverekere, nine in Byadarahalli and in one case in Vijayanagar police station. His crimes include attempt to murders, dacoity and peddling drugs.

Hameed proved as slippery as eel. Whenever police had him within their grasp, he gave them the slip. After his residence was shifted to Jnanabarathi police station limits from Byadarahalli, inspector Lakshman took rowdy Karthik and his associates seriously and was determined to tame them. Lakshman and his colleague Sagana Basappa made many efforts camped in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in a bid to catch Hameed from his hideout. Apart from his associates who kept him updated on police plans, insiders in the police department also helped him escape from his hideout. Sangana Basappa managed to install a GPS device on Hameed's SUV. Even then Hammed was a step ahead of the police. However, his luck ran out as the police followed him from a neighbouring State and managed to catch him on the outskirts of Bengaluru city. The police even announced a reward of more than Rs 3.5 lakh to those who provided information leading to his arrest.

A few months ago there was a complaint on social media about Ullal and surrounding areas becoming a hub of crimes and criminals. The commissioner of police, Kamal Pant himself had visited the area recently. "The rowdy Karthik's associates have fled the city. The regular patrolling in the area has been increased, an outpost has been set up in a BBMP building and around 60 CCTV cameras have been installed in the area," said, Sajeev M Patil, deputy commissioner of police (West). The police have sealed the land where Hameed is constructing multi-story building, an SUV and 2.5 kg ganja.