Telangana police uncover jail-forged criminal networks behind car thefts

Stolen sedan, jailhouse contacts and a growing investigative concern

A Hyderabad cab driver lost his white sedan to a passenger who vanished at a highway rest stop near Siddipet in the early hours of July 3, but what police uncovered during the investigation has spotlighted a pattern Telangana investigators now routinely examine: criminal partnerships forged inside prisons and revived after release.

Thirty-four-year-old Angoth Thulja had driven 32-year-old Pendyala Sudarshan 111 kilometres from L.B. Nagar to Komuravelli Mallanna Temple on a booking worth ₹5,000. After visiting the temple and making a return journey toward Hyderabad, Thulja stepped out near Mangole X Road to use the washroom, leaving the air-conditioner running. Sudarshan drove away in the ₹2.5-lakh car. Police later linked the tactic—keeping the AC at full blast—to cold diuresis, a physiological response that accelerates bladder filling.

Arrest and jail-forged networks

Siddipet police arrested Sudarshan on August 6 while he was allegedly travelling in another stolen car and recovered two vehicles and a motorcycle. Investigators identified Sudarshan as a habitual property offender with 13 criminal cases. According to Siddipet Police Commissioner S. Rashmi Perumal, Sudarshan had met Aman Kar, an Odisha resident involved in motorcycle crimes, during an earlier jail term; after release, Sudarshan travelled to Odisha and stayed with Kar. Two other men allegedly involved in stealing the second car, Raghu and Praveen, were described by a Kukunoorpally police officer as Sudarshan's "jail friends".

The men were not part of a single gang before imprisonment but developed associations in the same environment that allegedly continued after release.

Attention-diversion theft and history-sheeters

A similar pattern emerged in Hyderabad when Langer Houz police arrested six men on August 17 in connection with an attention-diversion theft targeting 71-year-old retired SBI bank manager Dama Mohan near Sha Ghouse Hotel on August 1. Police recovered 13.5 tolas of gold, ₹7.4 lakh in cash and two vehicles. Some of the accused had met while serving three-to-five-year sentences in different cases and allegedly reunited after release. Syed Asad, a 46-year-old autorickshaw driver, allegedly brought the group together; Asad, Mohd Ibrahim and Syed Abdul Majeed were identified as suspected or history-sheeters in Chandrayanagutta and Charminar, while Azar Hussain was a history-sheeter in Santoshnagar.

A senior police officer familiar with habitual offenders said prisoners naturally communicate in shared environments, and while most conversations lead nowhere, contacts made inside can become useful after release among habitual offenders.

Warder allegedly helped secure bail

A burglary case in Dubbak town illustrates how networks extend beyond inmates. On June 28, Chikkudu Krishna alias Vengali Bikshapathi, 37, allegedly broke into Chintha Raj Kumar's house while the family was on pilgrimage and escaped with about 800 grams of gold and 5.5 kg of silver ornaments. Police describe Bikshapathi as a habitual offender with 63 cases across Telangana. During questioning, Bikshapathi allegedly disclosed links with Gopal, a warder at Nizamabad jail, who investigators say helped him secure bail in exchange for a share of stolen property. The Telangana Prisons Department suspended Gopal after his alleged involvement surfaced; he was absconding at the time.

Police also suspected the involvement of another warder and an Armed Reserve constable allegedly associated with Bikshapathi earlier. Investigators say he had contacts in Cherlapalli and Nizamabad jails and allegedly supported prisoners' families by selling stolen property and passing on money. According to police, Bikshapathi was released on a Saturday night and allegedly committed another offence the following Sunday.

What influences repeat offending

A 2024 study titled 'Understanding the Risks of Criminal Behavior - A Study on Incarcerated' involving incarcerated people in Telangana found 83% of participants admitted committing crimes with others. Researchers identified peer influence, financial benefit, perceived low risk of conviction, excitement and opportunities to learn more about offending behaviour among factors influencing how offenders assessed risk.

Beena Chintalapuri, a professor of psychology and emeritus professor in the Prisons Department and one of the study's authors, cautioned against viewing prison as a pipeline to repeat offending, noting many prisoners choose not to return to crime. Psychologist Ramana Prasad said peer influence is not uniform and that a person already inclined toward offending may be more receptive to criminal information or relationships than someone genuinely trying to reform.

A senior Prisons Department officer said interaction among inmates is unavoidable but the percentage of cases where it results in a new criminal association is very small. The challenge is distinguishing ordinary interaction from relationships that could undermine rehabilitation, making prison intelligence important in identifying repeated associations and habitual offenders directing activities from inside.

Specialized roles, not conventional gangs

An attention-diversion gang targeting ATMs in Hyderabad shows how operations can be divided among people with different roles. The gang allegedly obtained debit cards from pickpockets, swapped them with those of vulnerable victims and used them to withdraw money. Earlier in August, police arrested six people and seized 130 ATM cards, two POS machines, three autorickshaws, five mobile phones and ₹27,230 in cash. The person stealing a card did not necessarily need to know how the fraud would be carried out, while the person making the withdrawal did not need to be a skilled pickpocket.

A police officer dealing with organised property crime said investigators increasingly look beyond the immediate offence, examining a habitual offender's previous cases, associates, movements and contacts.

Director General of Telangana Prisons Soumya Mishra said the department continuously monitors the records of habitual offenders and that the state's recidivism rate is around 4%. The issue is not isolating inmates but identifying which relationships matter, a challenge that grows harder as crime becomes more specialised. Understanding these connections could become an important part of both crime detection and prison intelligence, meaning investigators must look beyond the offence itself and ask where the connections that made it possible were formed.

Source: The Hindu