VIJAYAWADA: Police are on high alert after members of the ‘Chaddi Gang’ reportedly committed two burglaries in the city limits — one at Kabela and the other at Guntupalli village in the last few days. The police came to know about the role of the ‘Chaddi Gang’ in the two robberies during verification of CCTV footage from these areas. They have formed special task forces to catch the criminals.
On the instructions from in charge city Commissioner of Police G Pala Raju, west zone ACP K Hanumantha Rao has formed two special teams to collect the clues and identify the accused before they strike another house.
The first burglary took place in an apartment near Chanumolu Venkatrao flyover at Kabela Centre under Two town police station limits on November 30. Two persons were found returning after committing the crime. The incident came to light after the house owner lodged a complaint with the police. “In the first incident, the accused entered into the apartment’s G 18 flat around 3 am in the morning and decamped with gold ornaments and some cash. They gained access to the apartment by breaking the door with an iron rod,” said Two town inspector DKN Mohan Reddy, who is leading one of the special task force teams.
Similar incident was reported on Thursday around 2 am in Guntupalli village under Ibrahimpatnam police station limits, where a gang of five members were seen trying to commit the crime. However, their efforts turned futile as the alerted flat owner switched on the lights of his flat after he heard a sound.
During the investigation, police chanced upon CCTV footage at Kabela Centre wherein two persons, wearing just chaddi and baniyan, were seen moving briskly after committing an offence. “In both burglaries, there was no loss of much property and no one was harmed. As of now, we have collected fingerprints of the culprits from the scenes of the offences and are trying to compare it with our database to know whether the culprits are previous offenders,” said the police.
As a part of the operation, police are searching all the colonies on the city outskirts, bus stand and railway stations and taking suspicious persons into their custody for verifying their antecedents. The police observed the pattern of accused robbers that they are targeting isolated houses and apartments on the outskirts of the city. “We have instructed all the apartment committees to increase the security,” the police said.