With the notorious ‘Irani gang’ of attention-diverters, operating across the country, victimising more and more women in Bangalore the city police are worried.
With the notorious ‘Irani gang’ of attention-diverters, operating across the country, victimising more and more women in Bangalore, the city police are worried. The men, incidentally, have nothing to do with Iran.
The gang gets its name from the surname of most of the offenders.The men, mostly relatives, are tall and fair, and trap women by appearing suave and sophisticated, often speaking English with ease.
Sources in the police department say that the gang has been held responsible for over 300 cases of cheating in different parts of the country.
Over 120 cases of attention-diversion have been registered against the gang in 66 police stations in the city.
JP Nagar police arrested 10 members of the gang in November and recovered property worth Rs35 lakh, comprising gold ornaments.
After a lull, the gang became active again in June, looting jewellery and valuables from gullible women.
Their method
They usually pose as policemen and rob people by saying that it is unsafe to wear jewellery in public.
They even produce fake identity cards to gain the women’s confidence.
They create panic and claim that a dacoity has happened in the area in the recent past. Women are asked to keep the jewellery in a bag or purse, their attention is diverted, and the miscreants flee the scene with the jewellery.
In some incidents, victims have had ‘valuables’ returned--because these are found to be fake, not real gold.
Most of the victims are middle or old, and are approached by the gang members when they are alone in public places.
It is commonly held that the members of the gang are capable of hypnotising victims. The members strike a friendly conversation, and before the victim’s hackles are raised, men make off with the valuables.
Some victims report loss of consciousness for a brief while.
One common method used by the gang is to seek a person’s blessing for opening a new business. The victim is hypnotised during the process and the offender makes off with valuables.
Besides Bangalore, the gang active is also active in other cities of the state including Hassan, Shimoga, Hubli, Belgaum, Tumkur and Mysore.
The gang has committed offences in other states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
On Thursday the gang struck in three parts of the city and stole valuables worth lakhs from four persons.
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