Ludhiana: With the hosiery season here, traders from across the country have started visiting Ludhiana. As they bring cash with them, they become easy targets of snatchers and robbers.
On the morning of November 6, two men armed with sharp-edged weapons had robbed a trader from Bihar, Naveen Kumar, of Rs 80,000 near Kapoor Hospital Chowk.
Every year, during the hosiery season, robbers lie in wait for their prey in the narrow lanes of the Old City markets.
For the past two years, the infamous Irani gang has been coming to the city to execute loots. Their modus operandi: they impersonate as cops, stop traders for checking and flee with their cash.
Additional deputy commissioner of police-I Deepak Pareek said, “As the festival and hosiery seasons have started, footfall has increased in the Old City markets. The Ludhiana police has already increased patrolling in the area from morning to evening. This is the reason the miscreants targeted the Bihar trader early in the morning, when there were no cops. We have set up checkposts in the area and deputed PCR cops.”
“Now, we will ensure patrolling in early morning hours too. Besides, we are getting more CCTVs installed in the markets. Recently, I had met the shopkeepers and the hotel owners and got more CCTVs installed as they help in tracing the accused. In addition, we plan to get hoardings installed in the main markets, spelling out precautions for traders coming from other states. We have also started tracing the habitual offenders and putting them under preventive arrest,” he added.
Irani gang
In 2018, Irani gang had executed six loots. Impersonating as cops, the gang members would frisk the traders and flee with their cash. Even as the Ludhiana police had nabbed the gang leader, Laalu Khani Irani, from Maharashtra, his accomplices are at large.
In September 2019, the gang again returned to the city and robbed a Haryana trader of Rs 2.5 lakh. Even as the police had identified the accused as Mohammad Ali and Baghar Ali of Bhopal, they could not be traced. Commissioner of police Rakesh Agarwal had then announced that a PCR would escort traders carrying more than Rs 5 lakh with them.
Be cautious
ADCP Deepak Pareek said the traders should avoid carrying much cash as several options are available for online money transfer. But if they have to carry cash, they should keep it in different places and not in one bag. They can keep some cash in the bag, some in a wallet and some in hidden pockets. They should prefer visiting markets during busy hours. Also, they should have the mobile numbers of police.