The police said they recovered a large amount of stolen jewellery and other goods from the accused. (File photo)The Noida police arrested Tuesday six members of a gang for allegedly breaking into locked houses in and around Greater Noida and stealing jewellery and other valuables worth around Rs 8 lakh. A seventh member, a minor, has been sent to a juvenile centre, the police said.
The accused have been identified as Pankaj, Tarun, Karan alias Putla, Ajay, Rakesh and Suraj, who were residing in Tugalpur village under Knowledge Park police station in Greater Noida, the police said.
Abhishek Verma, deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida, said, “The Beta-2 police have caught a gang of thieves who would target houses which were either locked from outside or houses which would go unanswered after knocking. During questioning, the accused revealed that many of them had regular jobs in the afternoon — some of them were vegetable vendors or scrap sellers — and at night they carried out burglary and theft targeting empty houses around Greater Noida.”
“Most of them are thin and light-built which would aid in entering the houses, either through windows or places where exhaust fans are installed on the walls. Thefts have increased in the past few months, especially at the Ansal Housing Society and Ansal Golf Links in Greater Noida. The accused are mostly residents of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, or Bihar and have been friends with each other for a while,” the DCP said.
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“Some other members of the gang in other districts are absconding, and the search for them is ongoing. We are questioning the people to whom the accused had sold their stolen goods. Apart from jewellery the accused also stole bathroom fittings – water pipes used in washbasins and pots. As of now, the stolen goods are worth Rs 8 lakh. However, we will be evaluating the jewellery by a gold evaluator to confirm the final evaluation of the goods,” he added.
According to the police, on May 30, the accused broke into G-51, Alpha-1, in Greater Noida and stole a pair of earrings, a chain, a ring and an anklet along with Rs 12,000 cash. On May 20, the gang broke into A-43, Beta-1, Greater Noida and stole a gold chain, an Apple laptop and a refrigerator, along with Rs 50,000 cash. On June 28, they broke into a house at Ansal Plaza and stole 40 pipes used in the bathroom and kitchen. On August 12, the accused broke into a window at Ansal Golf Links Society in Greater Noida and stole several pieces of jewellery, a Samsung mobile phone and Rs 18,000 cash,” the police said.
The accused were planning to carry out another burglary on Monday when they were intercepted from Ansal Housing Society during a police check by teams from Beta-2 police station.
The police said they recovered a large amount of stolen jewellery and other goods from the accused including, a pair of earrings, four bangles, three pairs of anklets, cash worth Rs 18,000, around 20 bathroom fittings, including water pipes, four steel pipes, an air conditioner, a refrigerator, along with equipment for committing burglary (hammers, screwdrivers and saws) from the accused.
A first information report (FIR) under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 380 (Theft in dwelling house, etc), 411 (Dishonestly receiving stolen property), 457 (Lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night in order to commit offence punishable with imprisonment), 398 (Attempt to commit robbery or dacoity when armed with deadly weapon) has been registered against the accused at Beta-2 police station.