Noida: Gang that targeted unguarded houses busted; 44 phones, 4 laptops seized

The suspects revealed that they targeted houses where people slept with their doors open at night, or left the rooms open to sleep on the rooftop

Noida: The Noida Police on Thursday arrested three suspects on charges of breaking into unguarded houses in Sector 126 area and stealing valuables, officers said on Friday, adding that over 40 mobile phones, four laptops, Aadhaar cards and other stolen items were confiscated from their possession.

The suspects have been active since 2019, carrying out similar thefts in Noida and Delhi’s New Ashok Nagar, and this week multiple residents of Bakhtawarpur locality in Sector 127 complained about valuables being stolen from their houses at night, police said. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

According to deputy commissioner of police (Noida) Rambadan Singh, multiple residents of Bakhtawarpur locality in Sector 127 this week complained about valuables being stolen from their houses at night.

“FIRs were registered in two such cases at the Sector 126 police station on Thursday and Wednesday. Officers inspected CCTV footage of 80-90 cameras in the area. On Thursday night, police teams saw the suspects stealthily moving through Pushta Road at night in an auto rickshaw bearing Uttar Pradesh licence plates,” said the DCP.

“As we arrested the suspects, four laptops of different companies, 44 mobile phones, three ATM cards, one driving licence, two Aadhar cards, two PAN cards, among other things were seized from their possession along with the auto rickshaw,” Singh added.

“Before coming to Noida in 2019 , Gopal used to work as an auto driver in Hamirpur, Tapan Manjhi used to work as a farmer in Purva Medinipur and Sapan Manjhi used to work as a cook at a hotel in Chennai,” the officer added.

During interrogation, the suspects revealed that they targeted houses where people slept with their doors open at night, or left the rooms open to sleep on the rooftop, said the ACP.

“The suspects carried out the thefts between 12 midnight and 6 am. They stole at least 200 laptops and 400 mobile phones over the last five years from unguarded localities in Noida and Delhi. The gang used to collect the valuables and take them to West Bengal to sell off,” the officer informed.

“The suspects face charges under section 380 (Theft in dwelling house, etc) of the Indian Penal Code and further investigation is underway,” he added.