A floating population of goons

Over half of snatchings in the capital went unsolved last year. Along with the increasing number of dacoities, robberies and house thefts, many of them were committed by “floating criminals”.

In the recent past, police have busted several gangs who came to the city in buses, trains and even flights to commit crime. After striking in the city, they flee to their native places for a few months before striking again. Some of these criminals take rooms in high-end hotels, while a majority of them find accommodation on rent in middle-income group colonies.

White-collar crimes have also shown an alarming trend. An increasing number of educated people are entering the world of crime. Ravindra Yadav, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) says they often do so to make quick money for a lavish lifestyle.

Police interrogation of arrested criminals also reveals that many come to the capital in search of jobs and take to crime due to unemployment.

After initial success, they return to their homes to evade arrests, only to come back again to the capital and strike in groups and gangs.

In March, police arrested a couple from east Delhi’s Krishna Nagar who was found involved in around 15 incidents of snatching. The two had come to the capital from Uttar Pradesh’s Muzzafarnagar district, and used to deposit all the stolen chains at Muthoot Finance to comfortably make around Rs 1 lakh a month.

Last year, 3,319 snatchings were reported, 140 per cent more than 1,371 such incidents in 2012. Police managed to solve only 47 per cent of the cases.

The increase in the number of incidents has forced police to advise people to watch out for motorcyclists. Chain-snatching ‘couples’ have also kept police officers on their toes. Police arrested 44 such women for snatching in 2013.

Many such gangs are active at traffic intersections and marketplaces like Lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, Karol Bagh, Janpath, Chandni Chowk, RK Puram, Lodhi Colony, INA and Greater Kailash. An increase of over 75 per cent has also been reported in house theft cases. There were 2,872 such cases last year, while 1,617 incidents were reported in 2012.

Modus operandi

Often, male gang members conduct a recce at housing colonies, and women work as domestic helps. The women accomplices, usually their wives, work on lower salaries than other maids.

The women pass on information about the number of family members and easy entry points to the house.

“They mainly target colonies near rail lines. The men hide in secluded places near railway tracks and enter the colonies after midnight. They rob the targeted house after cutting the window grill,” says Ajay Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East).

In houses where the women accomplices are not able to gain entry, the men count the number of cars parked to get an idea of the number of residents. “They prefer houses situated in lonely places or near parks. They also target houses with low boundary walls,” Kumar said.
According to Sindhu Pillai, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North), these gang members usually come equipped with sharp-edged weapons and country-made pistols. They also link up with local criminal gangs at times.

“Initially, these criminals used to commit burglaries. Now, they have turned into dacoits. After barging into houses, they keep family members hostage and flee with the booty. If anyone resists, they would not hesitate to kill,” Pillai said.

Gangs from Bangaldesh

In April 2013, a six-member gang from Bangladesh led by 30-year-old Badshah, who has a bounty of Rs 1 lakh on him, had got into the house of Sumer Kumar Gupta, a former director of prosecution, in east Delhi’s Preet Vihar.

They killed his son Animesh Gupta when he resisted the robbery. The same gang struck at another place in east Delhi — the Anand Vihar house of Dimple Kohli, wife of an industrialist. They robbed valuables worth Rs 1 lakh after holding her and her daughter Gunisha hostage at gunpoint.

Badshah, who was involved in around 19 such cases, was later arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun district. His accomplice Tasleem, involved in around eight cases, was also arrested, while five others are absconding. Police believe they have fled to Bangladesh.

Probes into many such cases has revealed that Bangladesh gangs sneak into India with the assistance of touts who also help them in procuring illegal firearms. They manage to get voter ID cards, ration cards and driving licences in the capital. After committing two or three big dacoities, they return to Bangladesh and wait for six or seven months before entering India again.

When it comes to white-collar crimes, fraudsters are using innovative methods involving SMSes, emails and phone calls to dupe people, and commit crimes like land grab. They use forged documents, internet banking and fake visa applications. In most the cases, their victims wanted to invest money for good returns in a short period of time.

“The accused manage to evade police dragnet due to their modus operandi of setting up temporary offices and leaving the capital as soon as they make enough money to live a lavish lifestyle,” Yadav said.

Police data over the last four years shows there is a gradual increase in cases of cheating, forgery and criminal breach of trust.

In the first three months of this year, 1,086 cases of cheating were registered, in which 187 fraudsters were arrested. In the same period, around 66 cases of forgery were registered, in which 36 accused were arrested.

According to Delhi Police Commissioner Bhim Sain Bassi, the department is up to the task of handling floating criminals. “This is a normal phenomenon. Dealing with criminals who do not reside in the city is part of our drill,” he said.

The top cop added that coordination with forces of other states is a tested strategy to counter such criminals.

Delhi Police senior officers hold regular meetings with state units of Government Railway Police. Coordination and exchange of information on criminals active across state borders are discussed.

The meetings are attended by Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Deepak Mishra and Joint Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) M K Meena, and involve top GRP officers from Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.