Gang of bus robbers busted, 11 arrested
By IANSFriday, February 11, 2011
NEW DELHI - To buy gifts for girlfriends and visit brothels, 11 men known as “karate gang” hijacked buses and robbed passengers here, making Rs.30,000-50,000 on every heist. The gang has been busted, police said Friday.
Nand Kishor, 38, also known as Karate, Ajid Hussain, 34, Maan Singh, 32, Mukesh, 35, Bunti, 22, Manoj, 19, Virender, 19, Niraj, 22, Ajay, 23, Ram Achal, 42, and Sumit, 23, were arrested from Rohini area in north Delhi.
When police learnt that they would be assembling in Rohini, a trap was laid for them.
“They had decided to hijack and rob a bus. Seven of them were to board it while the others would follow in auto-rickshaws and motorcycles,” a police official said.
They were always armed with knives and surgival blades.
The members communicated with one another only on mobile phones and, as part of steps aimed at keeping the gang going, did not know one another’s house addresses.
The gang normally robbed buses plying between Budh Vihar in north Delhi and Shivaji Stadium in central Delhi, Manglapuri in south Delhi to Azadpur in north Delhi, and Mangolpuri in west Delhi to Kamla Market in central Delhi.
“They would strike between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. or 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. by pick-pocketing people and robbing their mobile phones by brandishing their weapons,” added the official.
The police have recovered 29 mobile phones, 10 knives, two autorickshaws, two motorcycles and a surgical blade from them.
The gang’s members were a diverse lot. Hussain, Sumit and Maan Singh were auto drivers while Bunti and Neeraj worked in a factory. Mukesh was a band master and Virender was an electrician.
