BENGALURU: A gang of eight, working as daily wage labourers during the day and moonlighting as amateur arms dealers at night, were nabbed by the City Crime Bureau (CCB) on Sunday. A special team, formed by the CCB, seized two country made pistols, live cartridges as well as an air gun from the gang in RT Nagar.
According to the police, the gang, working as auto drivers, masons and other such jobs, would rob houses and shops in their area and con unsuspecting victims with the ‘rice pulling’ trick as well. The arrested are identified as Shakil Ahemed, (24), a resident of Kanakanagar in Hebbal, Sharvan Katri, (32), of Rajasthan, Imran Khan, (31), of Amaravathi in Maharashtra, Jaleel Umar, (29), of Bhatkal, Rafi Ahemed Khan alais Rahil, (31), of Kolar, Syed Vaseem, (25), of Nagawara, Mohemed Hasan Ansari, (43) of Mumbai, and Imran Rahis, (23), of Sultan Palya. Two more accused, believed to be from Chennai, however, remain at large and efforts are on to nab them.
“The prime accused Shakil managed to source pistols from Maharashtra and other places,” said City Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar on Monday. Speaking to The New Indian Express, a senior officer from the CCB said that the police were tipped off about the gang when they were hunting for illegal weapon sellers in and around Bengaluru.
“Shakil had asked Imran Khan and his cousin Ansari to bring the weapons. They would approach people, convincing them that they would become rich if they kept the rice-pulling metal in their homes and then loot them. No one came forward to file a complaint,” the officer said.