Snatching gang targeted 72 senior citizens in two years, held

Faridabad: Four members of a gang were arrested on Friday for allegedly snatching ₹1 lakh cash from a 72-year-old cyclist who was returning from an ATM to his home in Faridabad on August 29, said police

Faridabad: Four members of a gang were arrested on Friday for allegedly snatching ₹1 lakh cash from a 72-year-old cyclist who was returning from an ATM to his home in Faridabad on August 29, said police.

Snatching gang targeted 72 senior citizens in two years, held

Police said that in the past two years, the gang has allegedly targeted 72 senior citizens across Haryana. Lal Bihari, a resident of Dabua Colony in NIT Faridabad, had hung the cash withdrawn from the ATM on his bicycle while returning home, and two members of the gang identified him as a target and called their associates, said police.

The suspects were identified as Manoj alias Vikram, Ram Vilas, Santosh Kumar, and Amit Kumar from Gonda in Uttar Pradesh, said police. “I had gone to the bank and had withdrawn ₹1 lakh. I had kept the money in a small bag which I had placed on my bicycle handle, and I was holding it. Two unidentified men on a bike came from behind and snatched the bag and fled,” he said, adding that “he could not take down the registration number plate of the motorbike”.

Malhotra said the suspects were arrested near Leisure Valley Park. “They revealed during questioning that they worked in a group, and they have targeted over 500 senior citizens, women, and those appearing physically weak in the last 10 years.”

The suspects were jailed several times in different districts of UP and Haryana, said police.