Hassan: While travellers are regularly robbed on the Shiradi Ghat on the National Highway 75 in Sakleshpur, Hassan, the police is not sure whether a gang of highway robbers is responsible or pilgrims running short of money are themselves looting other passengers here.
Several robberies have already been reported this month. One was reported last year, four in 2014 and two in 2013. In the recent robberies a three-member gang attacked four different vehicles on the ghat road the same night and looted passengers.
A senior police officer says the police is checking with various prisons of the state to see if members of any gang known for highway robberies have been released from jail of late. “Gangs of robbers operate on highways passing through Bengaluru, Tumakuru, Ballari, Mangaluru and other parts of the state and we’re looking into their possible involvement here,” he said.
But the police also suspects pilgrims returning from Kukke Subramanya and Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada, may be running short of money and attacking vehicles to rob people of theirs .
“Shiradi Ghat is busy with pilgrims and some of them may not have enough money to get home and could be robbing other travellers as a result,” said an officer. The fact that none of those robbed have been harmed has strengthened this suspicion.
