The Delhi Police on Monday claimed to have busted a gang of thieves specialising in theft at marriage venues with the help of their juvenile assistant whom they had kept as a bonded labour.

Gokul Prasad, Sawant Sisodiya, lakhan Sisodiya, Abhishek Sisodiya and Vikash Sisodiya, all five hailing from Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh, were arrested from Mahipalpur Road near Chatarpur Metro station on January 23, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Ishwar Singh said.

Their juvenile accomplice was also apprehended.

A stolen Santro car was also recovered from them.

Police believe the gang was involved in over 100 thefts from marriage venues in Delhi NCR, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and other States. So far, 15 theft cases have been worked out.

After a number of theft cases came to light at banquet halls hosting marriage ceremonies in posh localities of South Delhi, police launched a probe.

Police noticed that in all the cases, a minor boy was seen as actually committing the theft while his other associates, unknown in number, took all precautions for not being captured in the CCTV cameras.

The boy did the bag lifting, remained inconspicuous even while seated next to the bride or the groom during late night rituals which are attended mainly by close family members.

During interrogation, the gang members revealed that they used stolen cars as getaway vehicle. They also kept a standby Swift car which had genuine papers, to be used in emergency, said the officer.

The car was later recovered by police and a costly Ceska pistol of Czech Republic make was found in it. The pistol was stolen from a marriage

ceremony at Amrapali Mall in Indirapuram in Ghaziabad,

he said.

In the continuing investigations, the juvenile was apprehended and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board from where he was sent to a remand home.

Interrogations led to revelations that Sawant was the kingpin of the gang and the juvenile was employed by them on 'contract of bondage' and his mother was paid Rs 2 lakh for allowing him to join the gang.

A contract executed between the gang and the mother of the minor has been recovered, he said, adding that legal opinion is being sought for initiating appropriate action in this matter separately.