The city police took a sigh of relief after the DCP squad of Zone 1 busted a gang, notorious for breaking into cars and stealing valuables in posh localities, on Tuesday night. The police arrested nine members of the gang involved in stealing laptops, cash and other valuables from parked cars.
Digvijay Rana, PSI DCP squad, told DNA that the gang members were arrested on Tuesday night from near Big Bazaar in Satellite, when they were preparing to target some cars parked in the area.
The police had named the gang Madrasi gang since all the members hail from Tamil Nadu. The gang has been active in the city for the last two months. “They have also committed similar crimes in Surat, Navsari and several other cities of the state,” Rana said.
The police busted the gang after a complaint was filed with the Satellite police that a revolver was stolen from a car parked near Ramdevnagar crossroads a couple of days back.
Although the police have seized 12 mobile phones, gold jewellery and cash amounting to a total of Rs1.64 lakh, they are yet to recover the revolver. “We are suspecting that they have committed around 30-35 similar thefts in the posh localities of the city,” investigating officer and PSI SJ Jhala told DNA.
Jhala further said that the gang is involved in stealing valuable from the dickey of the car as well as from inside the vehicles. “The gang comprises some 5-10 members; and targets car parked near shopping complexes, super markets, restaurants and other crowded areas,” said Jhala.
Primary police investigations have revealed that the gang was headed by R Mogam Naidu, 44, and Nagraj Raju, 33. Both are listed as wanted in the thieving cases in Navsari. From deciding the area of crime to assessing the value of the stolen material, everything is believed to be decided by the gang leaders.
According to a source in the police, the gang lives in a city for a few months and after committing the theft leaves the city and targets areas in other cities. “They don’t commit crime every day; they keep a gap of few days between each crime,” Rana said.
(
with inputs by Ritesh Shah)
