Inter-state robber gang held

Hyderabad: South Zone police arrested a gang of seven thieves and recovered stolen gems worth Rs 20 lakh, one country made pistol and cash worth Rs 45,000 from their possession.

The arrested were identified as Dheeraj Singh, Mohammed Saleem, Arshad Shaik, Mohammed Azmath Nazeer, Mohammed Umer, Mohammed Waqar and Shaik Saddam all inhabitants of Mumbai.

Police said Dheeraj, who was a notorious robber listed in the Mumbai police records, formed a gang with the other six persons to commit robberies. The gang arrived in the city on March 21 and while the six members of the gang stayed in a hotel, Dheeraj stayed with his second wife who lives in Attapur.

The gang observed people carrying hand bags around business places and robbed them after diverting their attention. On March 23, the gang was
looking for their prospective victim when they saw one man carrying a bag with extra care near Charminar, police said.

The gang followed him and snatched away his bag around 1.20 pm. The victim, Vijay Kumar Shah of Rajasthan, then launched a complaint with the Charminar police and revealed that he came to the city to supply precious gems to the retailers and the bag which was stolen contained gems worth Rs 20 lakh, police said.

On March 29, policemen dressed as civilians caught hold of two persons when they attempted to sell some gems under suspicious circumstances. When police found an unlicensed pistol hidden in the waist of one of the persons they took them for further interrogation to the police station.

During interrogation, one of the persons identified himself as Dheeraj and spilled the beans. Not only did he disclose that the gems were stolen from Vijay Kumar, but he also revealed that his gang snatched away a bag from a man at Siddi Amber Bazaar on the evening of March 23, which contained Rs 1.37 lakh, police said.