E-Paper
Cash loot at murder in ‘daylight’: Tribal gangs in UP adapting new tactics to dodge police’
Tribal gang member Satveer after his arrest on Saturday revealed that the gang is adapting new tactics to commit crime in daylight as committing crime in night can make them easily traceable.
The old tribal gangs that were infamous for targeting houses during night and do recce during the day time in the garb of petty vendors, have apparently improvised their modus operandi to dodge police.
A Rajasthan based tribal gang member Satveer who was arrested on Saturday in connection with the sensational loot and murder of a gas agency cashier in Vibhuti Khand area on October 29, revealed that tribal gangs do not follow the old modus-operandi. The accused is an active member of a gang of Banwariya tribe located in Alwar, Rajasthan.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Lucknow Kalanidhi Naithani said Satveer along with three other members of Banwariya tribe Anoop alias Annu, Sonu and Sundar had looted ₹10 lakh after killing the gas agency cashier. He said the police were shocked to discover that the daylight cash loot and murder was executed by the tribal gang members as they are infamous for striking at night.
A senior officer of Special Task Force (STF), who questioned Satveer after his arrest, said the accused revealed the gang is adapting new tactics to commit crime as their old traditional set pattern of crime have made them easily traceable.
He said the tribal gangs earlier used to prefer striking the houses close to railway tracks or highways in the night but now they commit crime during the day in open area.
“Other than the Vibhuti Khand loot and murder, the same gang allegedly shot a security guard in Gonda and looted ₹50 lakh from outside the bank on October 10, 2017. Moreover, the same gang is suspected to be involved in four loot incidents in Faizabad and ₹10 lakh cash loot after shooting dead a bank cashier in Pratapgarh on April 22, 2016”, he added.
“Earlier, the tribal gangs used to accompany their families to different states and camp on the city outskirts as petty vendors and identified the targets at least 50 kilometres from their camps. But now they have stopped brining their families along,” he said and added, “Instead, Satveer got a nine-year-old son of another member of the same gang and stayed in small and cheap hotels and lodges”. He said the police and hotel staff did not suspect him as a child accompanied him.
The STF official said the gang has bifurcated into two teams— one does recce and planning while another visits the spot after the plan is final and executes the crime.
“In the Vibhuti Khand case, Sonu and Sundar identified the target and did the recce. Satveer and Annu reached Lucknow later and executed the crime as per the plan of the first team. Sonu and Sundar were also present near the spot to assist the first team in case of any trouble,” he said.
He said the tribal gang members, who preferred walking and could travel over 50 kilometres overnight, now use stolen motorcycles to commit crime and then leave the city immediately through buses or trains.
Similarities with old pattern
Although the tribal gang has changed its modus operandi to a major extent, they have some similarities with the old pattern of committing the crime. A senior STF official said they still prefer to strike ahead of festival season as business transactions are much higher at this time of the year. He said they still prefer places closer to highways for a quick escape and do not hesitate in killing people in case of any restraint.
The official said the gang still gives large part of the looted amount to the planner as it was done in case of cashier murder—Satveer and Annu were given four lakh rupees while Sonu and Sundar got six lakh. Moreover, the gang members perform their old rituals of Kali Puja before and after committing the crime.
“For long, they were notorious for wearing undergarments (kachha-banyan). They are now fully clothed and keep changing their clothes and appearance before and after committing the crime,” he said.
Some changed their identities
Other than changing their old traditional pattern of committing crime, some of the gang members have even changed their identities and shifted their locations from Rajasthan and Haryana to western parts of Uttar Pradesh.
Satveer said one of the active members of his gang Govinda has proved himself dead and changed his identity. He said Govinda has even shifted his base from Alwar, Rajasthan to some place in Bulandshahr and continues tipping off the gang members about the probable targets. He said similarly some more members are suspected of changing their identities and living at other locations in Uttar Pradesh.
