Crackdown on gangs from UP, 7 arrested

Continuing its crackdown on migrant criminal gangs, the Delhi police has arrested seven robbers from Pasonda, a village in Uttar Pradesh that borders northeast Delhi, and solved 35 cases.

Over last two months, the Delhi police has busted at least three gangs with the arrest of seven robbers and cracked 35 cases registered in the Delhi-NCR region.

The gangs from Pasonda in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district have gained such infamy that even the special cell, the Delhi police’s anti-terror arm, and the crime branch, keep a tab on the criminals from this area, a senior officer said, adding that the village has been producing robbers and snatchers for decades. The Pasonda gangs usually begin their day early in the morning when they head towards Delhi on scooters, usually in groups of 20-30. Once they are in Delhi, they split into groups of two.

They are known to target men and women on morning walk. Once the target has been identified, they park their scooters and start walking or jogging with the target. Initially, they simply ask their victims to hand over their belongings. If they refuse or offer resistance, they are threatened with knives and occasionally beaten up. They are usually done by 9 am after which they head back to Pasonda.

For years, they have been targeting morning walkers in south Delhi, southeast Delhi, east and northeast Delhi, said the officer.

The recent crackdown was initiated after Alok Kumar Verma took over as the Delhi police chief and instructed his officers to be tougher on those committing street crimes and offences which affect people on a daily basis.

For the last few years, the police has been slapping the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the members of the Pasonda gangs, but it is difficult to say how much it has helped, he said.

In 2014 and 2015, the Delhi police arrested over 40 Pasonda robbers. In April last year, the special task force of the Delhi police had arrested four members of a Pasonda-based gang who imitated the motorcycle-borne thieves of popular Bollywood movie Dhoom.