‘Kingpin’ of thakthak gang interviewed, trained recruits
NABBED Kanhaiya’s tryst with crime started in his childhood; he created a syndicate with 40 young ‘criminals’ trained under him
NEW DELHI: Nagraj Kanhaiya, the 48-year-old alleged kingpin of the ‘thak-thak’ gangs, had learnt the ‘knack of tricking people’ from his father over three decades ago, said police.
Initially crime being a “family business”, Kanhaiya began running a crime “syndicate” after the death of his father in 1994. His work involved personally interviewing new recruits, training them, rewarding them and handling the legal troubles for the gang members, said Bhisham Singh, deputy commissioner of police (crime branch).
A native of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, Kanhaiya’s free run came to an end on Friday when a tip-off led to his arrest near New Delhi railway station.
Kanhaiya lived in a slum in west Delhi’s Inderpuri to come across as a modest person to avoid suspicion.
“He is such an expert in crime that Friday was the first time Kanhaiya was arrested in his career spanning over three decades,” said the DCP.
The modus operandi of the thak-thak gangs involves stealing valuables such as mobile phones, handbags and laptops from cars after distracting its occupants by knocking on the windows, puncturing the tyres or faking an accident involving the vehicle. They particularly targeted people leaving banks after collecting cash.
When Kanhaiya’s father, also named Nagraj, allegedly started criminal activities in the 1980s, he would allegedly take his teenage son Kanhaiya along. “Kanhaiya was quick to learn the tricks of the trade. His proficiency won him many young fans who called him Guruji. Many of them requested him to train them,” said the DCP.
After his father’s death, Kanhaiya allegedly began bringing young members into his fold. But making it into his gang was no easy task, said his interrogators.
“Aspiring members have to appear for an interview conducted by Kanhaiya. He tests their reflexes, facial expressions and presence of mind. He creates hostile situations to test how they react to it. If they come across as slow or poor with excuses on getting caught, he refuses to take them into his gang,” said the DCP.
For years, Kanhaiya personally trained his gang members before he readied some of his “veterans” to impart training to newcomers.
“The training started by observing from a distance how Kanhaiya committed the crime. The next step would be to serve as an assistant. Only when Kanhaiya was satisfied with their confidence that he let newcomers actively participate in a crime. He focused on operating in a synchronised and rehearsed manner,” the DCP said.
With around 40 members in his gang, Kanhaiya divided them into groups of seven or eight. Work involved visiting different cities, camping there for a few weeks and committing crimes, police said.
Kanhaiya had allegedly recruited many women members. They were not only used in faking accidents, their presence also helped in cost cutting. “The
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Kanhaiya tested new recruits’ reflexes, expressions and presence of mind. He created hostile situations, if they came across as slow or poor with excuses on getting caught, he refused to take them into his gang. BHISHAM SINGH, deputy commissioner of police (crime branch)
gang chose dharamshalas over hotels while camping in another city. They would carry ration along and the women members cooked for the gang. It helped reduce operational costs,” said an interrogator.
Once a group made enough money in a city, they would inform Kanhaiya who would fly down from Delhi to collect the loot. “Each member would get a share based on their contribution and capability. Kanhaiya kept the lion’s share and used a portion of the money to arrange legal aid, bail amount and take care of the gang members’ families if they landed in jail,” said the interrogator.
Kanhaiya is yet to rope in his children into crime. Two of his sons are studying while his daughter was married last year. “He spent ₹50 lakh on his daughter’s wedding. All the money was the proceeds from the thak-thak gangs’ operations,” said the interrogator.