For funding their wrestling dreams,4 youths turn robbers; held

All the accused were obsessed with wrestling and wanted to become wrestlers and in order to mitigate the expenses, they started robbing people on roads and resorted to chain snatching.

Pune, Dec 22: To realise their dream to become wrestlers, four youths in Pune resorted to robbery and chain-snatching but their luck ran out as police arrested them finally. Police seized gold ornaments, three motor cycles, 10 mobile handsets and cash worth Rs 5.24 lakh from their possession on Tuesday.

"All these accused were obsessed with wrestling and wanted to become wrestlers by joining traditional wrestling centre called 'talim' in Kolhapur, and in order to mitigate the expenses, they started robbing people on roads and resorted to chain snatching," an officer attached to Kothrud police station said toady.

The quarter is identified as Amar Karadkar (23), Bhagwan Margale (20), Kuldip Walmiki (23) and Nilesh Deshmane (23). He said they used rob commuters on knife-point and had also targeted truck drivers on highways. On Tuesday, police beat marshals found Karadkar and Margale's movements suspicious, who were on their bike in Kothrud area.

"When the police personnel inquired, they started giving vague answers, but later spilled the beans and revealed names of their two accomplices," he said. Investigation so far has revealed the youths have allegedly committed multiple offences of robbery in various areas in the city.

PTI