Cops after Bangladeshi, Nepali origin criminals

SIMILAR MODUS OPERANDI Crime pattern in recent four cases is same, says senior cop

Criminals of Bangladeshi and Nepali origin are in the crosshairs of Lucknow police. There have been clues of their involvement in four back-toback dacoities in the state capital since May 8, this year.

A senior official said the crime pattern in all four cases, including three in Gomti Nagar and one in South City colony of PGI area, was the same. “It resembles the modus operandi of criminal gangs with origin in Bangladesh and Nepal,” he said.

He said such gangs target houses close to railway tracks, as members find it safe travelling alongside tracks. “They enter houses by removing the iron grills on windows. They also make their victims drink water while committing the crime as a part of their ritual. All these things were common in the recent incidents,” said the cop.

He said that five robbers of a similar gang were arrested from Eldeco Greens colony in Gomti Nagar on the intervening night of December 8/9, last year. “The robbers included four Bangladeshi nationals -- Khalid Usman alias Islam Khaleel, Shahdat Ali, Abdul Haleem, Alamgeer -- and one Nepali national, Shahid Qadir. Four of their accomplices managed to escape,” said the official.

The official said the robbers were arrested when they barged into the house of businessman Ranveer Kapoor, and his family alerted police after sensing trouble. “Their arrest, last year, exposed a big nexus of Bangladeshi and Nepali criminals involved in thefts, vehicle lifting and robberies in the city,” he said.

The city police are now focusing on tracking down criminals with Bangladeshi and Nepali origin. “The five robbers arrested earlier will also be quizzed in jail about other members of their gang,” said the cop.

To recall, dacoits struck the house of a retired engineer of the power department, Girish Pandey, 74, in the posh Vivek Khand - I area of Gomti Nagar on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. They held him and his family hostage for over 90 minutes, and took away cash and valuables worth several lakhs.

Prior to that, on July 11, a similar dacoity took place at the house of senior HAL employee, Devendra Singh Negi, 57, in South City.

Two other dacoities, on the same pattern, were carried out at the houses of private firm consultant SMA Rizvi in Vipul Khand, Gomti Nagar, and real estate businessman, Chaman Lal, in May, this year.