Ludhiana, November 2
After committing nearly three dozen dacoities in North India, in which they murdered 13 persons, seriously injured 74 and left 24 traumatised, a 32-member gang of dacoits has been busted by the police. The accused belong to the Bauria tribe in Alwar and JhunJhunu districts of Rajasthan.
The police today announced the arrest of 14 key members of the gang, including two women and a 12-year-old boy. For the past over five years, the gang had struck in various parts of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.
Several women victims vent their ire by slapping some of the gang members while they were alighting from a police van for being produced before mediapersons.
Heart-rending events were narrated by the victims who had been called by the police to allay suspicion of the implication of the gang members. A number of victims broke down while reminiscing the details of the dacoities.
Several of the families were devastated. Some lost their young ones while the others lost the earning hand of the family.
The SSP and the SP(D) said the gang was divided into Jagdish and Arjun gangs, both of whom were brothers. They had allegedly looted more than 4kg of gold jewellery, nearly Rs 32 lakh in cash and valuables worth Rs 20 lakh.
Generally one or two persons of a family were members of such gangs but this one consisted of entire families. The men undertook the dacoities while the women and children did a recce of the area. All had a rank-wise share in the booty .
The gang members had given details of their crimes in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. The police of these states had been informed and the gang members would be interrogated by them also.
Sukhbir Kaur of Mandi Gobindgarh lost her husband, mother and a servant at the hands of the dacoits in 2001. Her son was left paralysed for six months. She could narrate only a part of the night of terror before breaking down.
Harpreet Singh of Jagraon lost his mother and daughter on the latter’s birthday in 2000. He urged the judiciary to give exemplary punishment to the accused.
The police had taken the gang members to the house of their victims. Most of the families recognised them and according to sources beat them up there also.
The police said goldsmiths to whom the stolen jewellery had been sold off were being questioned.
