Chandigarh: Chhota Rajan gang member among 5 arrested for robbing mother-son duo

A member of the Chhota Rajan gang from Mumbai is among five arrested for robbing mother and son after drugging them in Sector 36, Chandigarh

A member of the Chhota Rajan gang from Mumbai is among five arrested for robbing senior citizen mother-son duo after drugging them in Sector 36, Chandigarh.

The police said Dilip Upadhyay was a member of the Chhota Rajan gang and had three criminal cases registered against him in Maharashtra. He is among five arrested for robbing mother and son after drugging them in Sector 36, Chandigarh. (AFP File Photo/ Representational image)

The accused have been identified as Dilip Upadhyay, 36, from Mumbai; Lokendra Ranbhadur Swar, 41, from Bengaluru; Vishnu Bhagat Sodari, 28, from Maharashtra; Depender Bahadur Tadi, alias Basant Chettri, 22, and Milan Sonu, 20, both hailing from Nepal.

Milan Sonu and Deepinder Bahadur worked as domestic help in a Sector-36 house and had on October 22 stolen cash and jewellery after sedating their employers — Sarvajit Kaur, 89, and her NRI son Surinder Pal Singh, 69.

The police in a press statement said Upadhyay was a member of the Chhota Rajan gang and had three criminal cases registered against him in Maharashtra. The police said the accused were a member of a 12-member gang operating from Mumbai.

Talking about their modus operandi, the police said the gang leader contacted Nepali youths, who are employed as servants or cooks, through social media and collected the data of their employers and their wealth. Thereafter, they lured servants or cooks by promising them money and their safe passage to Nepal. They also gave them intoxicants to serve their employers so that they could easily commit a theft when their employers are unconscious.

The police said on October 15, the gang members reached Chandigarh from Mumbai, Nepal and Delhi and stayed at different hotels. Thereafter, they called up Milan Sonu and met at a park in Sector 35, Chandigarh, and hatched a conspiracy. As per the plan, Milan served food laced with intoxicants to his owners and committed the theft with the cooperation of the co-accused. After committing the theft, they fled to Maharashtra, Nepal and Delhi in separate groups. The police have recovered the cheque books of the complainants, Aadhar cards, ₹8,000 and jewellery from the accused.

A case was registered on October 23 under Sections 328 and 381 of the IPC at the Sector 36 police station, Chandigarh, in this regard.

The police said the gang had committed similar thefts of approximately ₹1 crore in November in Mumbai.