IPL 2025: 7 including 4 minors held for stealing mobile phones during CSK vs RCB match
The accused allegedly purchased black tickets, entered the stadium, and executed the theft.
The seized 36 mobile phones by Chennai police (Image: Hemanathan)
CHENNAI: The Chennai police have busted a gang which stole mobile phones from fans attending the IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket matches at Chennai and Bengaluru in the last ten days. Among the eight-member gang, four were juvenile delinquents, and 38 mobile phones were recovered.
The victims registered complaints through the 'Chennai Singam IPL QR Code' system introduced by the Chennai Police specifically to report security concerns to the police at IPL matches.
The Triplicane police said they had received complaints from at least 20 persons who reported their phone stolen during last Friday's IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Subsequently, teams were formed to identify the suspects, and the gang was traced to a lodge in Vellore, where they were apprehended.
The arrested persons were identified as Rajkumar (22), Akash Noniya (23), Vishal Kumar Mahto (22), Gobind Kumar (21) and four minor boys. Six of them are from Jharkhand, while two of them are from West Bengal, police said.
"Their modus operandi is that they target places of mass gathering and divert attention to steal mobile phones and other valuables. Our investigations, so far, have revealed that before Friday, they had also stolen phones during the RCB-KKR cricket match at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru," a senior police officer said.
Police said they would hand over the phones to the victims after the legal process. Further investigations are under way to find if the gang had targeted other mass gatherings in Chennai and other places apart from the IPL matches. While the four youths would be produced before a magistrate and sent to judicial custody, the minors would be sent to a government home for boys.
