By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Oct. 4: Police have arrested a large number of pickpockets from shopping malls, bus vehicles in Kathmandu.

The Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu, organising a press conference on Monday made public the names of 207 pickpockets involved in illegal activities by holding a press conference on Monday.

According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ashok Singh of Range, 207 pickpockets have been arrested since September 10. Of the 207 arrested, 161 have been sent to jail. Speaking at the conference SSP Singh told that they were sent to jail as they could not submit the bail demanded by the District Administration Office, Kathmandu.

Police had launched a special operation against pickpockets after receiving complaints of pickpocketing while shopping and traveling at Dashain, Tihar and Chhath festivals. They were arrested by plainclothes policemen on public buses, microbuses, and public places and shopping malls, he said.

According to the police investigation, the pickpockets, who entered the public buses in groups of three- two in each group, pushed the passengers and surrounded them to withdraw money from pockets and bags unknowingly.

SSP Singh said that pickpockets used their own code languages and words since they entered the public vehicles and places to execute their mission.

Some of the code languages they used while pickpocketing include- ‘Da’ for money, ‘Kan’ for mobile phone, the person who has been robbed as ‘Rame’ head of the pickpocket racket ‘Kashi’, ‘Taan ko Da’ to term if they have pickpocketed a small sum of money, ‘Jut ko Da’, if robbed hefty amount,  ‘Kacha’ for a vehicle, ‘Chhapa’ for a male victim, ‘Bhadri’ for the female victim, ‘Thuldai Aayo’ to denote if the police came, Maam to denote driver of a bus, ‘Male’ for co-driver, ‘Tappki’ to immediately get off from the bus, ‘Akal Ja’ to move forward in the bus, ‘Chhichal Ja’ move backward in the bus.