BENGALURU: A group of friends found hundreds of nails strewn on the city’s arterial roads on Thursday. They weren’t surprised: it was the puncture scammers at it again. Every day, Vijay and his colleagues go looking for nails scattered on Sankey Road and Ballari Road, and in parts of Lower Palace Orchards. The tack-sized nails are typically used to fasten carpets and upholstery. Some nails look fresh and unused, as though bought just for strewing. Others are rusted and could harm pedestrians, and even put the lives of diabetics in jeopardy. The stretch, leading to the airport, sees heavy traffic, and vehicles are in a hurry. With the nails deflating the tyres of hundreds of vehicles, business thrives for shops fixing punctures. Vijay, who works at a car showroom nearby, said, “My friends and I collect nearly half a kilo of nails every morning and evening.” Once, they caught a man surreptitiously lining a road with fresh nails. They handed him to the police. “The racket stopped for a month but it started all over again,” Vijay said. Over the last five months, the staff of the car showroom have gone out every single day to collect nails. Their mission is to protect the tyres of their vehicles, and those of their customers and the public. Nails are often found from Palace Guttahalli all the way till Bhashyam Circle, close to Sankey tank. Many make-shift puncture shops profit when tyres go flat. Some arrive promptly when motorists call. A few shops work round-the-clock. The racket is common knowledge. “The traffic policemen lend us a helping hand. Even the public stop by to help us rid the road of nails,” Vijay said. Express had recently written about Benedict Jebakumar, a Bengaluru techie who collects nails from Outer Ring Road. He has even designed a magnetic device to collect nails from the roads. Jebakumar’s Facebook page, titled My Road, My Responsibility, creates awareness about the racket. Users post their experiences as well. Police said they had not been able to identify those behind the racket.

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