CCTV footage and Bawaria gang informers help police nab three of nine robbers involved in Loni double case
The men were searching for probable houses when they found 40-year-old Dharamvir Sharma sleeping outside his house. When he woke up, the gang asked for water.
The Ghaziabad police on Tuesday arrested three of a nine-member Bawaria gang allegedly involved in the murder of a 40-year-old man and his 27-year-old neighbour at Pooja Colony of Tronica City in Loni on August 5.
The police said the gang had come for robbery but killed the two men after they put up resistance. The three suspects are Ankush, 20, his father Joginder, 42, and their accomplice Bhupender. A fourth member, Pradeep, had already surrendered before a Hapur court a couple of days after the double murder, officials said.
“The gang members are residents of Haidargarh in Hapur, Nidori in Masuri and Loni. The members from Loni had recceed the location where they were to strike on August 4 night. About 11pm on August 4, they arrived at Anand Vihar ISBT where an SUV of a member was waiting to pick them up for Loni. After arriving in Loni, they parked 1.5km away and walked to the house of the victim,” said Neeraj Kumar Jadaun, superintendent of police (rural).
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The men were searching for probable houses when they found 40-year-old Dharamvir Sharma sleeping outside his house. When he woke up, the gang asked for water.
“As the man entered the house, they walked behind him. During the scuffle inside, Sharma and his family nabbed one of the robbers but the others opened fire, leaving Sharma dead. Upon hearing gunshots, Sharma’s neighbour Sonu arrived with his brother Babu. The gang fired at the brother duo. Sonu died and Babu was injured due to bullet injuries,” Jadaun added.
The men were identified after the police came across CCTV footage in which all nine were seen walking into Pooja Colony about 1am on August 5.
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“From the modus operandi, we suspected they could be a gang of Bawarias. Our teams went Haryana, Meerut, Dasna and Hapur with the photographs and videos of the CCTV footage and inquired from different Bawaria informers. One of them told us the men could be a gang that has people from Masuri and Haidargarh. After raids, one man was picked up. He later disclosed the identities of eight others,” said a police source.
“Upon questioning, the three suspects told us that the others had fled their homes and were staying in the fields. Our teams are trying to trace them at the earliest,” Jadaun, added.
The cops said that after the recent crackdown in UP, the Bawaria gangs had stopped their practice of murders and raping women during robberies and instead were resorting to snatching and burglaries.
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