Five more members of Hyderabad's 'snake gang' held

In a massive operation, police here Wednesday arrested five more members of a 'snake gang' allegedly involved in a gang-rape and other crimes by terrorising people with snakes.

Eight members of the gang were arrested last month.

Over 400 policemen took part in the search operation in Shaheen Nagar area in Cyberabad on the outskirts of the city.

During the door-to-door search operation which began around midnight and continued till the early hours of Wednesday, police arrested five associates of Faisal Dayani, the main accused in the gang-rape.

Cyberabad police commissioner C.V. Anand told reporters that they arrested Hamid Dayani and Khalid Dayani, two brothers of the main accused.

Police teams were looking for 13 members of the gang, and five were arrested Wednesday.

Faisal Dayani, a gym instructor, and seven others were arrested last month for the alleged gang- rape of a girl in front of her fiance at a guest house. They allegedly threatened the victims with a snake and also filmed the crime on their mobile phones.

An investigation revealed that the gang was involved in several crimes including extortion and was also settling disputes. Police have received five complaints against the gang.

The police commissioner said two horses used by the gang were also seized during the search operation.

The gang members used eight horses to roam around in the area.

"A case for cruelty to animals will also be slapped against the accused," the police chief said.

Police teams also searched the house of the main accused and seized a four-wheeler and two two-wheelers.

The search operation also led to the arrest of 19 other people and seizure of three vans, two cars and 30 two-wheelers, which were used without registration documents. These arrests and seizure were not related to the 'snake gang'.