Hyderabad: Interstate robbery gangs who are constantly on the move have become a serious headache for the city police. Many North Indian gangs come to the city by train or on four wheelers and stay in cheap lodges for one or two days, commit crimes and then flee to other states.
They conduct surveys in the main areas of Hyderabad, chalk out an escape plan and rob vulnerable people. They usually commit robberies using stolen bikes which are abandoned after the offence leaving the police with very little clues.
The recent armed robbery at Santosh Nagar and the numerous money snatching cases in the city are the handiwork of these gangs. There are also cases of attention diversion in which gangs from Karnataka are involved.
The gangs usually target people coming out of banks with money. Some use chilli powder while others use weapons to threaten the victims. The first part of the modus operandi are common to all gangs. Each gang contains two teams, the observers and snatchers.
“The observers lurk in and around banks pretending to be customers and note people who withdraw a lot of money. They observe which vehicle the victim is using, how many people are with him and other details. Then they inform their team who are ready to snatch the money. Once the victim comes out they will start following him and will strike at a convenient spot,” said an official from South Zone, who is investigating the Santosh Nagar robbery. The Gujarat police busted the Santosh Nagar robbery gang three days ago after they terrorised Surat committing several crimes.
When the gang flees to other states leaving little clues the police have to go on a wild goose chase. Special CCS teams had done that several times. “The teams from Hyderabad usually go to the villages of these criminals in Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra, UP and Karnataka and raid their houses. Sometimes, they get one or two gangsters and the cops catch the rest using these people,” said a CCS official. In this way the city police detected a case of money snatching last year in which the Pintu gang from West Bengal was busted. The gang used to come to the city for a few days, commit robberies and flee to North Indian states or Nepal, where they spend the money lavishly.
