Four men arrested in Gurugram for stealing laptops from parked vehicles

The crime branch of Gurugram police has arrested four members of two separate gangs, including one named ‘Thak Thak Gang’, and recovered around 20 laptops, one two-wheeler, and other miscellaneous items

The crime branch of Gurugram police has arrested four members of two separate gangs, including one named ‘Thak Thak Gang’, and recovered around 20 laptops, one two-wheeler, and other miscellaneous items, said the police on Sunday. With this arrest, the police claim to have solved nearly 50 theft cases.

With the arrest of the four men, the police claimed to have solved nearly 50 theft cases in the city. (HT Photo)

According to the police, both the gangs stole parked cars containing laptops and valuables inside. The gangs have been functioning for the past two years.

Sandeep Singh, sub-inspector, anti-snatching squad, Sushant Lok-1, said, they had earlier on May 1 arrested five members of the gang and, since then, they were pursuing the case. They have also arrested one of the receivers who used to buy the stolen laptops from them.

The arrested have been identified as Vishnu Iyer, 22, and Naresh Iyer, 21, both living in Madanpuri, Delhi and were involved in more than 50 cases of theft in Gurugram. They were arrested from Kalkaji, Delhi, on September 13 and were taken to eight days of police custody. The police are conducting raids to recover the stolen laptops.

“Thak Thak gang undertook various modes of operation and every month planned a new one to escape arrest. They started with scattering currency notes on road near the car window to draw the driver’s attention and make him get down from the car. When this method became popular, they proceeded to pouring oil on the bonnet of the car to similarly draw the attention of the driver. Presently, they are using a catapult to break the car windows,” said Singh.

Earlier, they used to knock on the car windows to ask for an address or inform the driver about a tyre puncture. When the driver got down, they used to overpower him and steal the car. They got their name, Thak Thak, from the knocking sound they made on the car window. But, ever since they got famous, they had to change their modus operandi.

The gang members are from Andra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and had shifted to Delhi five years ago. Since then, they are operating in Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida, and Gurugram, the police said.

“After the arrest of their mastermind in May this year, they hesitated from stealing laptops, as they are suspected that the police have intentionally placed the laptop in the car a with tracking device installed to get information about the whereabouts of the gang members. They, therefore, started targeting cash and other valuables, while throwing the rest away. However, we have not recovered any stolen mobile or laptop from any location,” Singh said.

Two other men were also arrested by Amit Kumar, inspector, crime investigation agency (CIA), Sector 40 police. They were active in upscale areas of Gurugram, such as Golf Course Road, DLF Phase-1, MG Road and Sector 29. With their arrests, the police are expected to solve around 35 cases registered this year. “With the increasing incidents of car thefts, we had deployed our teams at those locations from where the maximum number of cases was reported,” said Kumar.

The accused Babloo, 30, a resident of Noida and Zakir, 29, a resident of Sangam Vihar, Delhi, were arrested from Ardee City on Saturday night. During the police interrogation, they revealed the names of other accused and those of the shops where they sold stolen laptops. The shops are mostly located in Nehru Place, Delhi.

“They use to come to the city on their motorbike and survey upscale residential localities. After locating a car with a laptop and other valuable inside it, they use to break its window with a catapult and steal the valuables,” said Kumar. The remaining members of the gang include Sanju, a resident of Madangiri, and Rakesh, who used to run a shop. They were arrested on April 28. Police said, “They use to fund their addiction by stealing bags kept in cars.