Irani gang is back in city

Ludhiana: The infamous Irani gang is back in the city after two years.
Police say the fake cops, who escaped with two jewellery parcels of Rs 12 lakh from Division 1 area, are Irani gang members. The gang struck in the city for the first time in 2018 and then returned a year later. Due to the lockdown last year, it gave Ludhiana a miss. The band usually comes here when the hosiery season begins.
Additional deputy commissioner of police-1 Pragya Jain says, “It was ascertained during investigation that the cop imposters were Irani gang members. Their modus operandi, physique, language and tone, all point towards it.”
Police have pictures of some of the Irani gang members. “These pictures will be displayed in the markets to create awareness. We have already issued instructions that only in-uniform police personnel can stop and frisk a person. A cop without uniform should be considered off duty,” she adds.
In 2018, the gang had executed six such snatchings, looting traders who had come to the city in the hosiery season. Posing as cops, the accused frisk traders and escape with cash. The then investigation had taken Ludhiana police to Maharashtra, where they had nabbed the gang leader, Laalu Khani Irani. His accomplices, however, could not be traced.
In September 2019, the gang had executed a snatching of Rs 2.50 lakh. The police had identified the accused as Mohammad Ali and Baghar Ali, of Hi-tech City on airport road, Bhopal. A team of Ludhiana police had gone to Bhopal to arrest the accused, but returned empty handed.
Their modus operandi
The accused roam around on motorcycles in formal dresses. Usually, they target people in two groups of four members. While one group stands away, the other approaches the target. Claiming to be police personnel, they ask the target to come along to their seniors for frisking. While the prey is being checked, another accused distracts him with a conversation. After looting, the accused immediately escape from the spot.