Bikers who said ‘namaste’ before robbing held
NEW DELHI: The next time you drive alone and spot a bunch of bikers greeting you with folded hands, don’t stop. You may get robbed at gunpoint by members of the ‘Namaste gang’.
The Delhi Police on Thursday arrested four robbers after a brief gunfight and claimed to have busted the gang that was allegedly involved in robbing commuters at gunpoint after making them stop their vehicles by saying ‘Namaste’ (hello). The arrested were identified as Nasimuddin alias Khali, Sakawat, Guljar, and Naim, all relatives.
Police said this gang had committed a series of over 50 robberies in the areas of west, northwest, southwest and central Delhi in less than a year.
The terror of this gang among police personnel was such that station house officers (SHOs) had put barricades on roads to check vehicles and to slow down the traffic movement in their jurisdictions, said a senior police officer. Over 10 Delhi Police teams were on the lookout for the gang.
The four were caught on Wednesday following information that they would pass through Rani Bagh underpass in northwest Delhi on two-wheelers to commit another crime. A trap was laid and the suspects were signalled to stop after they were seen coming on two scooters.
“However, seeing police presence, the pillion riders of both the scooters opened fire upon the raiding party. Fortunately, nobody was hurt and the robbers were overpowered,” said a senior police officer.
Police officers said that the gang took inspiration for this unique modus operandi from a popular television crime show, which the gang members had watched a year ago. While committing a crime, they used to introduce themselves members of ‘Kanjhawla Gang’ and used Haryanavi dialect to terrorise and mislead the victim.
Vijay Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (west), said that the gang mostly targeted elderly persons, including women wearing gold jewellery and driving alone in their cars.
“After selecting their target, the gang used to start following the car. Two of them would ride parallel to the car, pass smile at the driver and divert the commuter’s attention by saying ‘Namaste Uncle’ with joined hands. The robbers pretended to know the car driver, who eventually used to stop the car,” said Kumar.
“One of the two used to reach the driver’s side and the moment the driver used to roll down the window pane, he along with other associates, would overpower him. They used to sit inside the car and rob the driver of his cash, jewellery and other belongings,” the DCP added.
An investigator said that the gang used to tell the victim that they have information of huge cash with him and asked him to hand over the money. “They used firearms to threaten and rob commuters,” the officer said.