Truck lifters’ gang having links with Bangladesh busted, four held

Alok Mishra

Patna: With the arrest of four members of a gang of truck lifters, Patna Police claimed to have busted a gang having links with  Bangladesh. Police seized two vehicles including a looted truck from the possession of the arrested gang members, said Senior SP (SSP), Patna, Manu Maharaaj.

The SSP said that he had directed all SDPOs and SHOs of Patna district to carry out special drive against anti-social elements, liquor traders and those involved in sale of narcotics and initiate stern action against them. He said that he received inputs that a gang of truck looters of Bangladesh have become active in areas falling under Hathidah police station and were planning to commit some crime there.

The SSP said that he received information on his cellphone that the members of the gang have looted a truck and were speeding towards Bengal border. He said that an FIR was lodged with the Hathidah police station on November 29 and a police team was constituted under the leadership of Additional SP, Barh, and SHO, Hathidah. The members of Technical Cell were also included in the team to assist them, he added.

SSP Maharaaj said that information was being gathered by local intelligence and other sources. He said that truck owner told the police team that his other drivers informed him that his truck was looted by some criminals. Acting on the physical description of the criminals involved in the loot, police team was carrying out raids to nab them, the SSP said adding that the police team came to know that the looted truck was stationed on the border of West Bengal at Dalkola in Purnia and the criminals were trying to take the looted vehicle to Bangladesh.

The SSP said that the police team immediately reached there and arrested two criminals from there and recovered the looted truck. He said that two other members of the gang were also arrested on the information given by the arrested criminals.

The SSP said that during interrogation, the arrested criminals disclosed that they had purchased the truck at a price of Rs 5 lakh from local truck lifters’ gang and were making attempts to take the vehicle to Bangladesh where they can sell it. The arrested criminals also revealed that they had done it earlier, he said adding that the criminals said that on November 28 night, they had chased the truck by a Scorpio and intercepted it near Hathidah bridge on the plea of checking it whether the vehicle was carrying liquor. Thereafter they overpowered the driver and cleaner of the truck and escaped with the vehicle, Maharaaj said.

He said that the arrested criminals had been identified as Raban Seth, a native of ps Mohabatpur in Malda district, West Bengal, Tajbul Sheikh, a native of Mohanpur ps in Malda district, West Bengal, Karu Singh, a native of Purani Bazar under Bakhtiarpur ps in Patna, and Sunil Kumar, a native of village Jalkhobhiya under Barh ps in Patna. Police also recovered a looted truck, one pick-up van, two knives besides a bhujali from the possession of the arrested criminals, he added.