Cops bust Bihar gang duping Chandigarh residents near banks

CHANDIGARH: Police on Sunday claimed to have busted an inter-state gang of cheaters, with the arrest of eight persons. The accused used to fleece gullible people near banks by offering them a share in their unaccounted money in return of their money and flee after handing them a bundle of white paper wrapped in handkerchief.

The accused have been identified as Mukesh Kumar Mahto, Shatrudhan Mahto, Kavinder Kumar, Upender Kumar, Kapil Dev Mahto, Kawal Sahni, Sudesh Mahto and Sanjeev Kumar. Cops said all the accused are residents of the same village in Motihari district of Bihar. Police claimed to have solved four cheating cases with their arrest.

Police said the gang was active in the Tricity, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi. Jaspal Singh, SHO, Sector 17, said the spurt in cheating cases prompted them to gather CCTV camera footage from different banks. Teams were constituted to arrest the accused. On Saturday, police arrested one of the accused after the scrutinizing the CCTV footage. On his disclosure, police arrested the other seven accused from different parts of the city. The accused were living in a rented accommodation at Dadumajra Colony, Sector 38.

Police said the accused had told their family members that they have been running a factory called “Muthu” in the city. The gang targeted illiterate and the poor. Police said the accused had cheated hundreds of people in same style. In most of the cases, victims had not lodged complaints, cops told.

A court has remanded the accused in one-day police custody. Cops are hopeful that more cheating cases would be worked out.