Four days after three members of a family, including a pregnant woman, were killed by their neighbours over property dispute in Panda chauraha in Kaushambi on Friday, a 26-member Congress delegation visited the village and demanded justice for kin.
“Cases of atrocities on Dalits are on the rise in Yogi-led state government. Congress party will launch a massive agitation against the triple murder,” said Congress national secretary Pradeep Narwal. The Congress leaders including, Alok Prasad, Suresh Yadav, Mukund Tiwari, Vivekanand Pathak, Haseeb Ahmed and others, said they were with the grief-stricken family.
Three persons of a family, including a pregnant woman, her husband and father, were shot dead allegedly by their neighbours over property dispute near Panda chauraha under Sandipan Ghat police station of Kaushambi on Friday. Irked over the killings, agitated mob of villagers had gone on a rampage for around two hours and torched about half a dozen huts and make-shift shops and two vehicles.
The delegation of Congress leaders also will investigate the cause of the triple murder. The Congress aims to highlight the ‘poor law and order’ situation in the state under BJP’s rule. The delegation will present a detailed report to the party high command.
ARRESTED: The arrest of four Bihar-based criminals, who were held from city for committing crimes in UP, West Bengal and Assam has revealed that the gang didn’t use mobile phones fearing being trapped and preferred bikes to move from one place to other, police said.
They also made advance booking of tickets (for one member) in premium trains like Rajdhani if the amount of looted cash was more than expected.
The four members — Neeraj Kumar Banjara, Shankar Kumar Yadav, Kishan Yadav and Kashi Banjara – were arrested by Prayagraj police on Sunday. The police also seized Rs 8.35 lakh cash, three 0.315 bore licensed pistols along with six live cartridges, two bikes, eight SIM cards, four packets each of itching and chilly power and other valuables from their possession. The gang had executed Rs 7 lakh loot in Prayagraj and Rs 9 lakh loot in Sitapur on September 12 and 15 and had stayed in Varanasi and Lucknow respectively, they said. The gang, police said, had taken a cue from a similar gang in Odisha.
“The gang members used to travel on their bikes to different cities to execute crime. They didn’t prefer mobile phones and once they reached a particular city to execute crime, then they purchased basic mobiles and SIM cards on forged documents,” DCP (City) Deepak Bhuker told reporters.
Before executing loot in Prayagraj on September 12, the gang members had travelled to Varanasi from Katihar (Bihar), and took shelter in a hotel on fake identities.
“Once they arrived in Prayargaj, they purchased three keypad mobile sets and SIMs and destroyed it after executing the loot. The robbers then escaped to Lucknow and deposited the looted amount in the accounts of their wives. Cops, however, managed to freeze the accounts,” the DCP said.
Bhuker added that efforts were on to compile more information about Pushpendra - said to be kingpin of the gang- and other members. The DCP said compilation of CCTV and video footages has helped the cops connect the missing links and identify the criminals.
Senior police officials said the gang had made Katihar as their base camp where they assembled after executing crimes.
“They used to conduct proper recce before committing a crime. Moreover, the gang struck only at places where they could get hefty amount. They kept on changing their location to dodge police. They moved in groups of three to five and they didn’t execute crime in cities where they stayed,” they said adding that the gang was expert in executing snatchings and robbery swiftly.
“Every member of the gang was assigned different task right from snatching loot or valuables to its transportation to safer areas. Now, police are on the lookout for other operatives of the gang. The gang preferred to travel long distances to execute crimes. The gang always remained prepared for any eventuality and had a back-up plan ready.
They changed their names and carried fake identities to dodge law enforcement agencies,” they said.