LUCKNOW: Rae Bareli police, on Wednesday, busted an inter-state gang of frauds with the arrest of 23 persons, including 13 women from near the Kasrehla Pul area recovering the gold and ornaments worth Rs 18 lakh from their possession.
Sharing the information about the crackdown, Rae Bareli SP Dr Yashvir Singh said that the gang members basically from Hazaribagh of Jharkhand, used to operate in the guise of hawkers targeting middle-class households.
They used to offer exchange of old utensils with brand new ones for a pittance, said the SP.
Elaborating further on the modus operandi of the gang, he said that once winning the trust and confidence of the lady of the house, they used to offer better utensils or money in exchange for jewellery designs.
After getting the ornaments, they would flee the scene, said the SP. He added that the gang members arrested by the police had confessed to have targeted houses in multiple districts including state capital Lucknow, Barabanki, Pratapgarh, Banda, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Kanpur, and Bhadohi.
They usually used to target the women, not so educated, hailing from lower middle class.
SP Dr Yashvir Singh said the police got alerted following two incidents reported from Maharajganj and Chandapur, where women were duped n the same manner.
“In order to crack the cases, police teams headed by SOG incharge Vijyendra Sharma were deputed. During the hunt the cops reached the gang which was living at a secluded place under the Kasrehla bridge,” he added.
While the mastermind of the gang and his wife are absconding, 22 of the 23 persons arrested belonged to Hazaribagh in Jharkhand and one was from Chitrakoot, UP.
The police sources claimed that the gang was active across five states, including Rajasthan, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, prior to slipping into police net in Rae Bareli. Besides duping the people, the gang was also involved in cases of theft.