Hyderabad: On Monday, the Special Operations Team (SOT) of Rachakonda police busted a notorious inter-state ‘chaddi’ gang from Himachal Pradesh. They arrested seven people and cracked eight robbery cases in the city. The arrests were made by the SOT of the LB Nagar Zone and Hayathnagar police personnel.
The accused have been identified as Chowhan Thara Singh, Md. Sonu, Bittu, Gufthan, Saif Ali, Sadiq, and Md. Sajeed.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat said, “The robberies took place from January to October this year. The bizarre ‘chaddi’ gang is named as such because the accused execute burglaries in the night wearing just their underwear.”
Upon being asked why the gang commits offenses in the underwear, the police official said “The gang removes their clothes and keeps them in the shoulder bag and move in the shrubs where their clothes are at risk of being torn. In such tattered attire, people might suspect them.”
“Due to rumors regarding their modus operandi, the entire investigation got side-tracked and there was a delay in identifying these criminals,” the police official added.
Hence the name ‘chaddi’ or ‘chaddi baniyan’ gang.
As the Commissionerate press note states, “Our special team traced the movements of these offenders in Shimla District, Himachal Pradesh and later put them under physical and technical surveillance as they were moving in very remote places. With strenuous effort, the LB Nagar Zone SOT and Hayathnagar police officers apprehended six of the seven gang members at Outer Ring Road.”
The police said that the perpetrators were involved in house burglaries in residential areas like Chaitanyapuri, Hayathnagar and LB Nagar. While interrogating them, they revealed that they chose outskirt areas so that they could easily escape from the shrubs.
Explaining the gang’s modus operandi, the police state, “The ‘chaddi’ gang offenders belongs to the nomadic community.”
With the intention of robbery, they travel by train and spend their day in the city’s outskirts and do a recce of the locked houses. After sunset, they venture to the nearby bushes of the colonies and identify targets. Then they remove their trousers, shirts, and footwear and wait till midnight. After this, they get into the locked houses and commit the offenses.
After carrying out the robbery, they escape through the same bushes that lead to the ORR. From there, they move individually into nearby slum areas while some leave the city.
On a credible tip regarding a recent robbery in Hyderabad, the police arrested six of those gang members within the jurisdiction of the Rachakonda Commissionerate. There are eight cases in Telangana and six cases outside the state such as Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat against the gang.
After interrogating the accused, they revealed that the seventh member of the gang was looking to escape via train from the LB Nagar Metro station with a shoulder bag containing the stolen gold ornaments.
This last member was then caught.
The police have seized 150 grams of gold ornaments, 400 grams of silver, four mobile phones, cash in Rs. 3,000 and two knives — all totally worth Rs. 6.55 Lakhs.
“The arrested gang will be produced before the court for judicial remand and they will be taken into police custody for further questioning,” the press note stated.
SIASAT NEWS