2 held for robbery using minors 'hired through auctioning'

Two persons have been arrested for allegedly committing robberies at weddings parties using minors "hired through auctioning in their area", police said today.
On January 29, Saif Hasan Naqvi filed a police complaint alleging that a bag containing jewellery including gold sets, diamond earrings, necklace, etc was stolen from a marriage function in the basement hall of Indian Islamic Centre.
The incident was captured in the CCTV cameras installed at the venue and teams were formed to nab the accused, said DCP (South) Ishwar Singh.
A close watch was kept to track the movements of the gangs that have been involved in such thefts, specially those from Madhya Pradesh, he said.

The team also laid traps at farmhouses and banquet halls where marriages were being organised and tried to identify the accused.
Police received information about the accused yesterday.

A trap was laid and Prithvi (22) and Kalu Ram (42) were arrested from the Reservation Counter, Sarojini Nagar and stolen articles worth Rs 8 lakh were recovered from them, Singh said.
"During interrogation, they told police that that they used to engage minors for the crime. Minors between the age of 10-12 years were auctioned in their area," said the officer.
The bid sometimes used to cross Rs 10 lakh for a kid.

"Once the kid was auctioned, the money was handed over to his/her parents in two instalments and the kid was hired for a period of one year.
"The kid used to be trained on to how commit thefts in marriage functions and how to behave with people inside once he/she gets inside the venue," said the officer.
The child was also made mentally and physically tough not to divulge their identity or that of his/her gang members.
"The gang comprises men and women who usually stay at railway platforms and bus stops.
"They always keep on moving so that they cannot be suspected by the local police at such places," added the officer.

Women take care of the kids and men used to take them to the marriage functions. While kids used to be sent inside, men used to stand guard outside the venue.