With the arrest of a 32-year-old man, Delhi Police on Sunday busted a notorious gang which goes by the name "Band Baja Baraat". The accused and the kingpin of the gang, Raka, confessed that the gang used to steal bags from marriage functions held at Farm Houses. Police have recovered Rs 4 lakh stolen cash, gold and silver jewellery articles and other gift articles given to the bride by the guests, worth around Rs 8 lakhs.
What has startled the sleuths is the fact that gang used to train younger kids in methods of stealing and for that purpose the gang used to pay a hefty amount to the parents for co-opting children in the gang.
Surender Kumar, DCP (Southwest) said, "On June 19, we received a complaint from Manoj Chaudhary, a businessman, in which he said that his green colour Briefcase containing cash golden and silver jewellery, expensive wrist watch, etc given by guests to the bride was stolen from his daughter's marriage function organised at the Kamya Palace in Bijwasan. Following which, a case was registered at Kapashera police station.
Investigation into the case, police found that the theft was captured in CCTV cameras installed at the venue.
"On analysing the CCTV footages and video recording of the venue, we found that three persons including two juveniles were involved in the theft. It has also been revealed that the crime was committed by above suspects after spending considerable time at the venue and making themselves familiar and comfortable. They were never in a hurry, had their dinner there and patiently waited for the opportune time to strike. They dressed like those attending the marriage party. After entering the venue they mingled with the crowd and targeted the person keeping the cash. Within a few minutes, they picked up the briefcase which had the cash and jewellery by the family of newly-wed bride and groom and quickly vanished from the scene," said the DCP.
Police said that they kept a tab on the movement of criminals which adopted a similar modus operandi and laid traps at farm houses and banquet halls where the marriages were being organised. Since the gang belonged to Madhya Pradesh, teams were sent to three villages of Madhya Pradesh and tried to identify the thieves involved in the incident. The team also scanned the area with an idea that the criminals might have used any mobile network at the affected time and place. After a lot of efforts the team zeroed down the criminals involved in the crime and got some specific inputs about their movements.
Eventually, on July 1, based on a tip-off, police apprehended Raka from his rented house in Pochanpur. During the interrogation, Raka confessed to his involvement in the theft and based on his instance, his associates Neeraj, Kuljeet and two juveniles were apprehended.
During sustained interrogation, Raka disclosed that to get easy access into the venue, they deployed minor children to steal the valuables. Between the age group of 9-15 years, the children were deployed in a particular area based on their potential and intelligentsia. Moreover, each child was bought for as much as Rs 10 lakh cash.
"Once the kid is auctioned, the money is handed over to his parents in two or more installments and the kid is hired for a period of one year. Now, the kid would undergo training for a month long period as to how to commit thefts in the marriage functions and how to behave with the people inside once he gets inside the venue. He is also made mentally and physically tough not to divulge his identity and that of his gang members in case he is caught. He is also instructed to put on good clothes to attend marriage and should have snacks along with others invitees to dispel any suspicion. The gang comprises adult men and women as well who usually stay at rented premises and drop the child at function and sometimes wait outside on three wheeler and motor bikes. Women take care of the kids as their own and care for them as their own child. The real parents of the child are regularly informed regarding his/her well being. Kids are being sent inside and men stand outside the venue," said the senior official.