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Six members of interstate looters’ gang held in Prayagraj
A district police team and two police units encountered an interstate gang late Saturday night and arrested six members, two of whom suffered gunshot wounds.
The district police arrested six members of an interstate gang, two of whom suffered bullet injuries, in two encounters with police teams late on Saturday night, police said. The police also claimed that the arrested members of the Bihar-based gang confessed to their involvement in a triple murder at Aandhi village in Manda area in Prayagraj’s trans-Yamuna last year. Moreover, they were also involved in some other incidents in trans-Ganga in which all family members were killed during last few years, officials said.
Confirming it, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Prayagraj, Sarvashreshtha Tripathi said joint teams of special operations group (SOG), trans-Yamuna, under in-charge Santosh Singh and Manda police under inspector Awan Kumar Dixit launched a checking drive on Prayagraj-Mirzapur border on Saturday night.
On growing suspicious, the team tried to intercept two suspects near a shrine but they opened fire on the police team and tried to escape. In the retaliatory firing by the police team, one of the suspects suffered a bullet injury in his leg, Dixit added. He was arrested and was identified as Pradeep Kumar Joshi, 25, aka Joshi Kharwar. His aide identified as Anees Kharwar, 20, was also nabbed, he added.
“The duo hail from Dehri Bazaar area of Rohtas district in Bihar. A country made firearm and some live and empty cartridges were recovered from Pradeep Joshi’s possession. The accused informed that their other members of the gang were present at Bankat in Soraon area” the SSP said.
Acting on the information, three other gang members Sumit Kharwar, Sandol Kharwar, Amraj Kharwar of Dehri in Rohtas district of the same were nabbed by SOG trans-Ganga, Nawabganj and Soraon police. Police officials said police teams tried to nab another suspect but he opened fire on the police team. In retaliatory firing, the criminal identified as Baliram Kharwar of Dehri Bazaar of Rohtas district suffered an injury in the leg. He was arrested with a country made firearm and some ammunition.
The SSP said Pradeep was the kingpin of the interstate gang and four other members Lawla Kharwar, Rohit Kharwar, Murgi Pankh Kharwar and Dohbi Kharwar were on the run. During questioning, the criminals confessed to have been involved in the brutal murders of one Nandlal Yadav, his wife and daughter at Aandhi village of Prayagraj district in May last year. The accused had also raped Nandlal’s daughter before killing her brutally, he added.
The gang members visit villages on the pretext of selling honey and balloons etc to carry out a reconnaissance before targeting their victims. The gang moves from one state to another and commits loots and murders. The gang members never used mobiles and changed their hideout soon after committing the crimes. They confessed to have committed loots and murders in Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Chitrakoot and Pratapgarh districts. Their involvement has been established in multiple murders at Yusufpur , Jagdishpur, Mani Ka Pura in trans-Ganga area of Prayagraj. The looted jewellery was sold to jeweller Ballu Gupta of Badshahi Mandi area who was also arrested by police team.
Two country made firearm, ammunition, two choppers, two sickles, a knife, an iron rod, a screw driver and some ornaments were recovered from the arrested criminals, he said.
The gang members were wanted in cases registered, including those of murder, rape, under the Arms Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, against them at Soraon, Nawabganj, Manda, Kaundhiara, Tharwai, Ghoorpur ,Sarai Inayat and Soraon police station, the SSP said. Further investigation in this regard was under way, he added.
