4 of robbers' gang held after exchange of fire in Noida

Four members of a robbers' gang, which struck factories at the break of dawn, were arrested after an exchange of fire by police here on Tuesday, officials said.

Two of the accused, carrying a reward of Rs 25,000 each, were injured in police firing near the Botanical Garden metro station while the two others were held as they tried to flee, a senior official said.

Superintendent of Police (Crime) Ashok Kumar Singh said the Sector 20 police had got a tip-off about the movement of the gang in the city around midnight.

"The accused were coming in a car from Delhi and were gestured to stop for inquiry at Rajnigandha Chowk but they sped away towards Atta and further to Botanical Garden," he said.

"Their car then went out of control and hit a tree. Two of the occupants came out of the vehicle and fired at the police team, while the other two fled," Singh said, adding that those who were firing were injured in a retaliatory action by police.

The other two were arrested during a combing operation in the area, he told reporters.

Those injured were identified as Mohammad Abid and Yogesh, while their accomplice were identified as Sameer and Neeraj, he said.

The officer said the accused would target hardware and tools-manufacturing factories here and would often hold security guards of these companies hostage to break into their warehouses.

"Two members of this gang were held recently and they had shared some vital information about the gang's working and others associated with it. The gang struck early in the morning, usually around dawn, when police patrolling parties would be returning to their stations for shift change and vigilance would be relatively low," he added.

He said the gang members would carry out a recce of their target during daytime only and then struck early the next morning.

Firearms along with ammunition were seized from their possession and their car, in which they had kept iron rods and tools to break open locks and shutters, was impounded, Singh said.

He said with their arrest, police had worked out multiple cases of robbery and theft across the district.

"Abid and Yogesh each had around two dozen criminal cases against them at various police stations, while Sameer and Neeraj had seven cases each against them," Singh added.