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‘Thikri pehra’ to combat gangs
From Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

JALANDHAR, March 10—Despite a number of preventive measures the police is apparently unable to curb rising crime by armed gangs of migrant labourers in the district causing fear in the region. Armed gangs suspected to be comprised of migrant labourers of criminal tribes like Pardis & Bawaries have been active in the villages and around the city for the past about one year. What has caused maximum anxiety is the ruthlessness of the assailants who use iron rods, hand pump handles, and other blunt weapons to batter and maim their victims in to submission.

So far, the gangs have killed three persons, including one in Phagwara town on March 7, and injured around two dozen persons in half-a-dozen robberies in Jalandhar and two in Kapurthala district. The meagre success of the police in nabbing these violent criminals in spite of formation of a special investigation team (SIT) and launching of night domination operations has put a question mark on its efficiency.

The robberies began early last year when a group of dacoits struck at house in Deep Nagar locality near the cantonment in which assailants fired at and injured one Major Singh, before fleeing with cash. Mr Rakesh Kumar, Sarpanch of Kahnpur village was the next victim of the robber gangs, who besides looting his house beat him up, injuring, him seriously. In another sensational robbery in Hirapur village in July last year Dalbir Singh and Nirmal Singh were battered to death, while Mohinder Kaur, the wife of Dalbir Singh was injured.

Similar robberies have taken place at Talhan, Nangal Sapror (Kapurthala) and other villages. Following the attack on St Joseph’s School, Phillaur on November 2, in which six armed robbers looted Rs 2.5 lakh and some gold ornaments from the convent, the Jalandhar district police formed the SIT in November last year.

A night domination operation was initiated only last month under which police officers were instructed to remain in the field between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. so that movement of such gangs could be curbed. But their efforts appear to have little result with the gangs becoming more aggressive instead and extending their reach to nearby areas like Phagwara, where an armed gang attacked five houses on March 7, killed one Parvinder Sharma, an NRI.

Earlier on January 6, armed robbers attacked the St John Convent School, Phagwara.

In Jalandhar district barring the arrest of six-members of a Muzaffarnagar (UP) Bawaria tribal gang on March 9, which the police claim was responsible for a number of robberies in the district, there has been no real breakthrough.

“Though we have been making a lot of efforts and have been checking movement of suspected people and vehicles, nothing much could be achieved. For we feel they commit the crime with the active involvement of local people”, said a senior officer on condition of anonymity. Disturbed by increasing incidents of violent robberies sarpanches of different villages, after a meeting with the SSP on March 8 have decided to mount “thikri pehra” in their villages.

According to police sources, members of the gangs, live in small rented accommodations in and around the city and identify potential targets by roaming the streets and selling balloons and toys etc during the day.

The six-member gang, nabbed by the police yesterday had been living in hired rooms in Kukkar Pind and Kot Kalan villages on the city’s outskirts. The gang members were identified as Kaloo, Ram Kumar and Omi, all residents of Jinjana village, Tilak Raj of Mastpur village in Muzzarfarpur district in UP and Vimal Kumar of Yamunanagar in Haryana, Mr Gaurav Yadav, SSP said today adding that another similar gang was still operating in different parts of the state. He parried a question on whether the gang was behind the Phagwara incident.

Another interesting aspect according to police sources is a noticeable spurt in crime, particularly dacoities, around Holi as the gangs reportedly try to collect as much money as they can before going back to Bihar and UP for the festival.