Risk to your valuables from across the border
4 Sep 2012 2:22 AM GMT
Their appearance is as filthy as their actions. Clad in torn, stinking clothes, which they consider their USP, and armed with sticks, iron rods and other tools to break locks, this Delhi gang, infamously known as Bangladeshi gang, has been causing concern to Delhi police for a while now.
They are considered to be experts of what they do and are known to visit vulnerable localities and meticulously perform reconnaissance before identifying their targets. They then barge into their targeted houses during early hours and take the house occupants by surprise.
Senior Delhi police officials believe the sudden increase in the cases of house robbery and burglaries is due to the Bangladeshi youths who indulge in such crimes.
The biggest handicap faced by the Delhi police is their failure to identify them as they return to Bangladesh after committing a major crime. ‘Taking advantage of their appearance, which is not too different from people in India, they mix up and become part of the Indian society easily. In the day time, they work as ragpickers and in night they prowl to execute their crimes,’ said a senior police official.
They come to Delhi through West Bengal as the border is porous. These youths come to Delhi in search of jobs. For survival, they choose rag picking or part time jobs such as hawking and stay in the slums. Then they get an idea of the locality and become familiar with posh localities. ‘Those houses that are locked for some days or those occupied by senior citizens living alone are on their radar,’ said the official.
‘We immediately deport them into Bangladesh after they are caught living illegally. Almost every Bangladeshi criminal who is arrested by Delhi police failed to show visa, passport or other documents. They even change their names and learn Hindi to gel with the crowd,’ said Sanjay Kumar Jain Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime).
‘As many as 2,000 Bangladeshis have been sent back to their country in the last three years, according to the figure of Foreign Regional Registration office (FRRO), who regulate the registration, movement, stay, departure of foreigners. They also recommend the extension of stay in India,’ said an officer.
The most affected areas are Amar Colony, Saket, Taimur Nagar, Madanpur Khadar, Okhla, Sangam Vihar, Sarojini Nagar, Bawana, Jahangirpuri, Ashok Vihar, Seelampur, Jagatpuri, Seemapuri, Preet Vihar, Anand Vihar and Kondali.
With the passage of time, their mode of functioning has slightly changed. Now instead of sticks and canes, they carry country-made pistols, said a senior police official. One of the gang members stands outside the house to raise an alarm while others break in the house. Carrying weapons, they hold people hostage, and if needed, they tie their hands and legs. They then ransack the house and flee with valuables and cash.
The three most brazen robberies were reported in 2009 within 10 days in the capital. The modus operandi in all these cases pointed towards the involvement of Bangladeshi gang.
In all three robberies reported from East of Kailash, Loni in Ghaziabad and Preet Vihar, robbers struck early in the morning.
After every robbery, they pass on the looted valuables to others who dispose them off and deliver the money proceeds at their native place in Bangladesh.
One such gang had even robbed a former deputy mayor of Palwal, who was staying with his family in D block of East of Kailash. As many as eight men entered the house of Suresh Chutani around 2 am and fled with cash and valuables worth Rs 25 lakh. Five of them were armed with sticks, rods and knifes while others carried firearms. The gang gained entry by breaking the window grill, similar to what happened in Loni and Preet Vihar.
‘All cases of robberies and burglaries committed by such gangs have been solved. As of now, no such gang is active in the area,’ claimed Additional Commissioner of Police of south-east district, Ajay Chaudhary. He said their beat officers have specially been asked to put a tab on such people living in slums and JJ colonies.
BREAKING AND ENTERING
They are considered to be experts of what they do and are known to visit vulnerable localities and meticulously perform reconnaissance before identifying their targets. They then barge into their targeted houses during early hours and take the house occupants by surprise.
Senior Delhi police officials believe the sudden increase in the cases of house robbery and burglaries is due to the Bangladeshi youths who indulge in such crimes.
The biggest handicap faced by the Delhi police is their failure to identify them as they return to Bangladesh after committing a major crime. ‘Taking advantage of their appearance, which is not too different from people in India, they mix up and become part of the Indian society easily. In the day time, they work as ragpickers and in night they prowl to execute their crimes,’ said a senior police official.
They come to Delhi through West Bengal as the border is porous. These youths come to Delhi in search of jobs. For survival, they choose rag picking or part time jobs such as hawking and stay in the slums. Then they get an idea of the locality and become familiar with posh localities. ‘Those houses that are locked for some days or those occupied by senior citizens living alone are on their radar,’ said the official.
‘We immediately deport them into Bangladesh after they are caught living illegally. Almost every Bangladeshi criminal who is arrested by Delhi police failed to show visa, passport or other documents. They even change their names and learn Hindi to gel with the crowd,’ said Sanjay Kumar Jain Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime).
‘As many as 2,000 Bangladeshis have been sent back to their country in the last three years, according to the figure of Foreign Regional Registration office (FRRO), who regulate the registration, movement, stay, departure of foreigners. They also recommend the extension of stay in India,’ said an officer.
The most affected areas are Amar Colony, Saket, Taimur Nagar, Madanpur Khadar, Okhla, Sangam Vihar, Sarojini Nagar, Bawana, Jahangirpuri, Ashok Vihar, Seelampur, Jagatpuri, Seemapuri, Preet Vihar, Anand Vihar and Kondali.
With the passage of time, their mode of functioning has slightly changed. Now instead of sticks and canes, they carry country-made pistols, said a senior police official. One of the gang members stands outside the house to raise an alarm while others break in the house. Carrying weapons, they hold people hostage, and if needed, they tie their hands and legs. They then ransack the house and flee with valuables and cash.
The three most brazen robberies were reported in 2009 within 10 days in the capital. The modus operandi in all these cases pointed towards the involvement of Bangladeshi gang.
In all three robberies reported from East of Kailash, Loni in Ghaziabad and Preet Vihar, robbers struck early in the morning.
After every robbery, they pass on the looted valuables to others who dispose them off and deliver the money proceeds at their native place in Bangladesh.
One such gang had even robbed a former deputy mayor of Palwal, who was staying with his family in D block of East of Kailash. As many as eight men entered the house of Suresh Chutani around 2 am and fled with cash and valuables worth Rs 25 lakh. Five of them were armed with sticks, rods and knifes while others carried firearms. The gang gained entry by breaking the window grill, similar to what happened in Loni and Preet Vihar.
‘All cases of robberies and burglaries committed by such gangs have been solved. As of now, no such gang is active in the area,’ claimed Additional Commissioner of Police of south-east district, Ajay Chaudhary. He said their beat officers have specially been asked to put a tab on such people living in slums and JJ colonies.
BREAKING AND ENTERING
- 10 March 2011: Five Bangladeshi men were arrested while planning to commit a robbery. The gang members revealed their involvement in four cases of robbery in Ashok Vihar, Mansarovar Park and Anand Vihar areas.
- 19 OctoBer 2011: With the arrest of two Bangladeshi citizens, south Delhi police claimed to have busted a gang of burglars involved in more than 50 cases of burglary and robbery. The gang used to enter farmhouses and residences after cutting open the grills and breaking locks. In some cases, if burglars found the house occupants inside, they reportedly overpowered them at gunpoint and locked them in a room before committing the robbery, the police said.
- 16 November 2011: A Bangladeshi migrant, who along with his brother-in-law and a friend killed his former elderly landlady believing she had lots of money but found only Rs 3,000 and a silver chain, was arrested.
- 9 February 2012: Police arrested four Bangladeshi nationals from south Delhi in connection with 10 robberies committed across NCR as well as Rajasthan. Two mobile phones, an iron rod, a calculator and Rs 10,000 in cash were recovered from them.
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