THANE: The Kasarwadavli police arrested two notorious criminals of the infamous Gulkhedi village of Madhya Pradesh for robbing a purse containing gold ornaments worth Rs 17 lakh from a wedding ceremony in November with the help of a minor boy.
The accused, Ajaysingh Kondana, 22, and Badal Sisodiya, 29, both residents of Gulkhedi in district Rajgadh have been arrested.
The police, in December had recovered stolen booty of over 400 grams of gold worth over Rs 17 lakh from a shanty in the interiors of the place but the accused had managed to flee.
A senior police officer informed that the village Gulkhedi, Kadia of Rajgad district in Madhya Pradesh is infamous for these types of robberies. Their modus-operandi is to train the minor children to rob the purse or precious belongings from wedding ceremonies and operate across the country. They also suuply minor children for hire to carry out such theft and strike at the glitzy weddings. "In this case, they used a minor who is their close relative," said the officer/
The police said that it has even come to out notice that parents of the minor children even sign agreements with the other robbers, who are their neighbours and send their children with them for anything between Rs 2- 5 lakh depending on the assignments.
While they strike tenaciously at the wedding ceremonies, they are well groomed and trained in the thefts and flick the valuable jewellery in split second. “The Gulkhedi gang members do not keep local contacts and use minor children in the age group of aged 06-10 years which does not give rise to any doubts. They are told to mix in the family functions and have outstanding etiquettes who greet the guests and flick the jewellery and pass it on conveniently,” said a police officer.
“They are guided over cell phones by their elders from elsewhere and once they are out of the ceremony they vanish using cars in the lighting speed to their hideouts to deceive the cops,” Shahdeo Palve, assistant inspector who led the investigations.
A cop from Kasarwadavli police station said that the village have contemporary designed bungalows, youngsters riding highend bikes and using high-end phones as well.