Mobile thieves gang busted in Noida; 821 stolen phones worth ₹8 crore recovered, 8 held

The case came to light after a businessman complained about the theft of his new flagship mobile phone worth ₹1.48 lakh from Sector 88 flower market.

Noida

Deputy commissioner of police (central Noida), Shakti Mohan Avasthy said, “The gang used to target people in the weekly markets. They work in groups and after snatching a mobile phone they pass it from one to another in a bid to avoid suspicion and escape being caught.” (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

With the arrest of eight people and seizing as many as 821 stolen mobile phones worth around ₹8 crore, Noida police on Tuesday claimed to have busted a gang of mobile thieves from Jharkhand who shifted to the National Capital Region (NCR) last month.

According to police, the case came to light after a businessman complained about the theft of his new flagship mobile phone worth ₹1.48 lakh from Sector 88 flower market.

One of the thieves was identified based on CCTV footage, and was traced to a room near Tigri roundabout in Noida. On reaching the spot, police said,. they found 821 mobile phones packed in bags kept under the beds.

Police said the accused have been identified as Govind Mahto, 32, from Bihar’s Bhagalpur; Shyam Kumar, 23; Bhartiya Mahto, 35; Shekhar Mahto, 25; Pradeep Kumar, 32; and two minors aged 14 and 15, all residents of Sahibganj in Jharkhand and Rohit Saini, 20, a resident of Haibatpur in Noida. They all were residing in three rooms near Tigri roundabout.

“Govind is the mastermind and he came in contact with others when on a visit to Sahibganj. They moved to Noida around a month ago and joined Rohit, who used to run a pan shop,” said Avdhesh Pratap Singh, station house officer, Phase 2 police station.

Deputy commissioner of police (central Noida), Shakti Mohan Avasthy said, “The gang used to target people in the weekly markets. They work in groups and after snatching a mobile phone they pass it from one to another in a bid to avoid suspicion and escape being caught.”

Police said they were active in Delhi-NCR for the past one month and were planning to stay until the end of January. “After collecting mobile phones from NCR, they return to their hometown to sell them at cheaper prices. Some of the mobile phones were also sent to Nepal,” DCP Avasthy said.

A case under sections 303 (theft) and 317 (stolen property) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at the Phase 2 police station.