If you think picking pockets is a ‘petty’ offence, reconsider. The T. Nagar police recently recovered jewels and cash amounting to ₹ 1 crore from an organised gang of pickpockets.
Shoppers in T. Nagar have frequently been victims of this gang that operates mostly in buses, crowded commercial areas and trains, with a range of attention-diversion tactics, apart from their obviously deft digits.
Police personnel of T. Nagar district formed a special squad to narrow down on the gang.
Working on the cases for months, the squad slowly started identifying each member of the gang, and narrowed in on more than 20 members, proven to be involved in pickpocketing offences.
A senior official said the gang was based in Jolarpet and Kuppam. They used to travel for the express purpose of picking pockets.
The official claimed the stolen property that was recovered was handed over to more than 250 victims.
This gang specialises in using women, who reportedly are trained to judge if their prospective victim carries anything of value or not.
Shocking is the police claim that the pickpockets use a baby ‘rented out’ for the purpose and specially trained as a diversionary tool.
Initial breakthrough
The police official said the first breakthrough in nabbing this organised criminal gang came after a tip-off from a bunch of youths travelling in a bus when a victim, having lost her valuables to this gang, identified the pickpocket as a woman with a particular tattoo.
One of the youths, a resident of Porur, said that a woman with a similar tattoo was a regular commuter on the Poonamallee bus route.
Lavish lifestyle
The police official said the criminal gang might be running around to earn their living in the city, but they led a lavish lifestyle back in their hometowns.
“In one instance, the police officials who had gone to secure these criminals even found a couple owning a rather sophisticated caravan,” a police official added.
