Gangs with minors on the prowl in Ahmedabad

In another face of child exploitation, gangs are using minors to steal valuables. Within the last 20 days, different police stations of the city have received six complaints where minor boys were directly involved in stealing bags from cars and in house break-ins.

In the latest incident at a petrol pump near Manav Mandir, the CCTV camera captured a minor boy of around 10 years taking instructions from his gang members to steal a laptop from a car.

According to police officials, kids are used by gangs to deceive their targets, as people trust kids more readily. The gangs also use them to break into houses as they are small enough to pass through a bent window grill or a similar gap.

In recent cases of stealing bags from vehicles, it has been seen that the gang identifies their target first and then instructs the kids to approach the driver and distract him by dropping currency notes near the car.

From his experience in the police department, MR Sharma, senior police inspector of Vastrapur, said the kids belong to the families of the gang members. “These kids are not hired or illegally captured by the gangs to commit crimes. They actually belong to their families. The kids are trained to work as a team and strike at the right moment,” said Sharma who appealed to the public to remain vigilant.

According to him, these gangs keep changing their locations in the city and use stolen vehicles to target citizens.

NV Gamit, senior police inspector of Kalupur, firmly believes that these gangs visit Gujarat from different parts of the country and vanish after committing the crimes.

“During my job in Surat, I learnt about Kadia village in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh, where almost every family is involved in grooming and training their kids to steal. They teach them how to gatecrash into lavish wedding functions and steal purses or ornaments of guests.

The gangs regularly visit cities of Gujarat and then return with stolen booty, he said. “The gangs also keep a shampoo with them. One of the members pours shampoo on someone’s shirt from behind in busy areas. Then a kid approaches them offering to clean the dirty shirt to divert attention,” said Gamit, who is investigating two cases in Kalupur area, where kids were involved in stealing bags.

Apart from gangs from MP, Gamit believes that gangs with kids also visit Ahmedabad from Thane in Maharashtra and some parts of Andhra Pradesh.

“As for local gangs who use kids, majority of them are based in Sardarnagar and Kubernagar areas. As per my knowledge, kids who distract car owners with currency notes indicate a modus operandi of a Kubernagar and Sardarnagar-based gang,” said Gamit.

THE BIG GANG THEORY

Date: August 6
Place: Three houses in Sarathi Duplex, one house in Aditraj Bungalow in Jodhpur
Minor's role: Assisting gang of thieves in house break-ins

With the help of a small kid, a gang struck at four bungalows near Jodhpur and vanished with valuables and cash amounting to Rs4.37 lakh. The gang sent a kid inside the house through a small gap created by lifting the window grill with the help of a wooden log.

Date: August 29
Place: Ratan pol in Kalupur
Minor's role: Bag-lifting

Mohammad Yunus Shaikh, a resident of Kadi in Mehsana district, alleged that a boy of 10-12 years ran away after stealing his office bag having cash and ornaments worth Rs2.75 lakh while he was talking to the owner of Shubham store in Ratan pol.

Date: September 9
Place: YMCA club, SG Road
Minor's role: Bag-lifting

During a wedding dress material exhibition at YMCA club, a 10-year-old boy entered the stall from behind and vanished with a bag full of cash and ornaments worth Rs10 lakh when the stall owner Namrata Shah was busy talking to customers.

Date:  September 15 (7pm)
Place: Relief road 
Minor's role: Bag-lifting through distraction

Two teenage boys approached a mother-daughter duo that was sitting in their parked car on Relief road and told them to pick up their purse which had fallen underneath the car. While they were busy looking for the purse, the teenagers stole their bag containing Rs12,500 cash from the car and vanished.

Date: September 15 (8:30pm)
Place: Gurukul crossroads, Vastrapur 
Minor's role: Bag-lifting through distraction 

To distract and shock the car driver, a 14- year-old threw some red liquid on the back of a parked Swift DZire car near Swaminarayan Gurukul and informed the car driver about ‘blood stains’ on the car. While the driver was busy rubbing off ‘blood’ the boy vanished with a bag from the car having Rs3 lakh in cash.

Date: September 22
Place: Petrol pump near Manav Mandir at Helmet circle
Minor's role: Bag lifting with the help of his gang

With the help of a gang of four adults, a minor boy stole a laptop bag from a car at a petrol pump. When the car owner stepped out of the car to check the puncture that was the handiwork of the gang members, the boy grabbed the bag having laptop and walked away towards the main road.