3 members of burglars’ gang held in Delhi

Three members of a suspected burglars’ gang were arrested in Delhi, India, while trying to sell a stolen car. Stolen items and tools were recovered.

Three members of a suspected burglars’ gang were arrested on Najafgarh-Nangloi Road on Thursday, the Delhi Police crime branch officers aware of the matter said on Saturday.

As many as 10 stolen LEDs, another stolen car and tools to break into houses were recovered from their possession. (Representational image)

Police tracked them down while they were making attempts to sell a stolen car. As many as 10 stolen LEDs, another stolen car and tools to break into houses were recovered from their possession, the officers added.

The arrested accused were identified as Laxmi Narayan, 50, Mukesh Kumar, 38, and 25-year-old Ramu (police revealed only his single name). Narayan and Kumar are history sheeters with 60 and 100 previous criminal cases against them respectively, while Ramu was earlier involved in 10 crimes, said Ravindra Singh Yadav, special commissioner of police (crime branch).

The gang used to communicate with each other and save phone numbers in code language, said Yadav.

They were allegedly led by a notorious burglar, Manpreet Paji alias Gurbax, who is currently on the run.

“Each member of the gang was told to find separate rented accommodations and not reveal the address to each other. This ensured that even if any of them got caught, the person couldn’t tell the police about the location of the stolen items,” Yadav said.

“They used to share only their professional phone numbers and switched it on only at a particular time of the day when needed, and immediately turned it off after that,” Yadav said.

“So, D could be coded as 1, E as 2, F as 3 and M as 4. This helped them to hoodwink police in case any of them got arrested,” Yadav said.

Recently, Gurbax purchased a device from abroad that helps them identify whether a car being targeted by them was equipped with a GPS tracking device. “The special device helped them avoid targeting cars equipped with GPS trackers,” Yadav said.

A search for Gurbax and other members of this gang is on, Yadav said.