Ten mobile phones, a watch and Rs 15,500 in cash were seized from them.
With the arrest of eight robbers, including five minors, the Noida police claimed to have busted a gang which employs minors for stealing mobiles and other valuables across Gautam Budh Nagar and NCR. The members of the gang used to get entry into rented houses and paying guests (PGs) posing as rag pickers early in the morning and steal the assets.
The in-charge of the police station of sector 39, Noida, Neeraj Malik, who led the operation along with his team to nab the culprits, said the eight accused, including three men and five boys, were arrested from the Sector 44 green belt area on Thursday morning. Ten mobile phones, a watch and Rs 15,500 in cash were seized from them.
The group’s modus operandi was to sneak into the houses and PGs, where students generally live, and pick whatever they could lay their hands on, explained Malik.
“We have received several complaints from the rented accommodations that while the students were sleeping in the early hours of morning, unidentified people would come and steal their phones, laptops and other valuables. Acting upon the complaints, we started a search operation and succeeded in busting the racket,” the police station in-charge said.
During interrogation, the gangsters revealed that the group operates in Gautam Buddh Nagar and other parts of NCR and has more than a dozen minors between the age of 12 to 15 associated with it to carry out its operations.
They also revealed that they have carried out more than 200 robberies in the area so far.
The arrested accused have been identified as Mahesh Dhobi, Shivam, Rohit Pal, Munna (12) Ravi (14), Bablu (15), Shami (15) and Sanjay (14).
