Robberies at cell phone shops

The ‘ubiquitous’ is no longer an adjective for cell phones, but for the mobile shops also. As the shops are increasingly becoming omnipresent, it is equally becoming an easy target for robbers. So much so, the mobile you recently bought may be the same one that was stolen from a different shop recently?

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In the city alone, at least eight robberies have been reported in various showrooms in the last four months (five in the last one month itself). A particular chain of shops has been, curiously, a major target. Intriguingly, one particular branch of this chain has reported two robberies over the last two months. Police deal the robberies as just another crime. But circles in the know, especially those who operate in the grey market, have a different tale to tell. With almost all mobile phone shops offering deals like ‘buy 2 and get 3 free’, there is a huge demand both from shopkeepers and the shoppers. This trend has helped the cell phone stealers to dispose the stolen goods easily. There is a huge demand for stolen goods, and many respected names in the trade are said to buy huge lots of cell phones from the robbers. But the police think otherwise. ‘The security at many of these cell phones are lax,’ says a senior policeman ‘The shop-owners who are keen to showcase their products swankily forget to put in adequate security like CCTV cameras,’. adds the senior cop. The police say that they have evidence to believe that a gang is specifically targetting cell phone shops. ‘Fingerprints found at two shops that had been victims of the robbers match with that of a North Indian gang,’ said an officer in the know. But so far no breakthrough has been effected. As the items are stolen in bulk and get distributed widely, the process of tracing all mobiles becomes little difficult, he said. Doubts are also rife among policemen, whether this is also an attempt to claim hefty insurance by the mobile shops.