Dehradun police on Wednesday arrested nine swindlers from different parts of Dehradun who allegedly conned people, particularly the elderly and the women, using confidence tricks. Police claimed to have recovered stolen items, including cash amounting to ` 34, 000 and jewellery worth about Rs five lakh aside from four vehicles. The modus operendi of the criminals was to give the people a lift in their car and swindle them of the money and other valuables they were carrying.
The accused have been identified as Delhi residents Sanju Kumar, Rajesh Gupta, Pankaj Mishra, Umesh Kumar alias Tinku, Sunil Kumar, Mohammad Kasim, Vinod Kumar and Rashid along with Chamoli resident Jagat Bisht. Police claimed that Jagat Bisht from Ghaziabad was the mastermind of the gang and he was sent to jail in Meerut after he was caught swindling the people there.
Dehradun SSP Sweety Aggarwal said that several teams were formed at police stations of Doiwala, Raiwala and Nehru Colony in view of increasing swindling cases. Investigation revealed that a gang had been operating to dupe people of their money, she said, adding that the gang members had targeted and swindled senior citizens and women at places like Rispana Bridge, Vidhan Sabha Crossing taxi stand, Miyawala Chowk and Raiwala. “To crack such cases, several teams led by SP City Ajay Singh, SP Rural Shweta Chowbey and SP crime Tripti Bhatt were formed. Apart from this, retired police personnel (senior citizens) were involved. Finally, they were arrested from Haridwar Bypass Road. All of them were sent to jail,” she informed.