Ghuman gang involved in 14 offences held

Patrol team’s laxity in earlier attempt emboldens them to strike again

It was the negligence of patrol team, which failed to get down and chase the members of ‘notorious’ Ghuman gang involved in 14 housebreaking offences across the country, when they struck Kuntloor village for the second time on November 22, said Rachakonda Commissioner of Police Mahesh M Bhagwat.

“Our team could have caught them on the same day itself, but there was some negligence in getting down and chasing the gang. The officers, who went to the spot on that day, are attached to headquarters for dereliction of duty,” he said.

However, the seven members of the gang of nomadic tribes, with roots in Bangladesh, were caught by the Rachakonda police for the first time on Monday. The police recovered 150 grams of gold ornaments, 400 grams of silver articles and four mobile phones from their possession.

“After coming to India, their families started living in Himachal Pradesh and from there they are currently living in Akola district of Maharashtra,” he said.

This year, the gang committed four dacoities in Kuntloor village of Hayathnagar, two in Chaitanyapuri and one dacoity in LB Nagar.

Explaining the modus operandi, Special Operations Team (LB Nagar) inspector T Ravi Kumar said that the gang members reach the city as toy sellers and live in tents erected on the outskirts of the city.

“They select isolated colonies, close to highway or semi forests and recce it during the day. Post midnight, they break open the house doors with the boulders and commit the offences. The accused carry weapons to threaten the inmates,” he said.

According to him, the gang reached Hyderabad in January this year and stayed at Nampally Railway station for three days, after which they conducted a recce in Uppal, Chaitanyapuri, LB Nagar, Chandanagar and other areas in the city.

It was a challenging task to nab them, as they do not have a previous criminal record in any State, Mr. Kumar said, adding that initially, they assumed that it was infamous ‘chaddi’ gang and other notorious gangs from Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

After the gang struck the Kuntloor village again on November 22, a victim alleged that even though she picked up an axe and tried to chase them, the police patrol team standing a few metres away from her house were just watching them (gang members) disappear in the dark. “The police were mute spectators when the gang was on the run,” the woman said.