Delhi Police continue crackdown on Pasonda gangs

Continuing its crackdown on migrant criminal gangs, Delhi police have arrested seven robbers of Pasonda, a village in Uttar Pradesh which borders north-east Delhi, and solved 35 cases.
Over the past two months, they have busted at least three gangs with the arrest of seven robbers and cracked 35 cases registered in Delhi-NCR region.
The gangs from Pasonda in UP's Ghaziabad district have gained such infamy that even the Special Cell, Delhi Police's anti-terror arm, and the Crime Branch, keep a tab on criminals from there, a senior official said.
He said said the village has been producing robbers and snatchers for decades.

The Pasonda gangs usually begin their days in the wee hours when they head for Delhi on scooters, usually in groups of 20-30. Once here, they split in groups of two.
They are known to target men and women on morning walk. Once the target has been identified, the park their scooters and start walking or jogging with the target. Initially, they simply ask their victims to hand over their belongings. If they refuse or offer resistance, they are threatened with knives and occasionally beaten up.

They are usually done by 9 am after which they head back to Pasonda.

For years, they have been targeting morning walkers in south Delhi, south-east Delhi, east and northeast Delhi, said the official.
The recent crackdown was initiated after Alok Kumar Verma took over as Delhi Police chief and instructed officers to be tougher on those committing street crimes and offences which affect people on a daily basis.
For the last few years, police have been slapping the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the members of Pasonda gangs, but it is difficult to say how much it has helped, he said.
In 2014 and 2015, Delhi Police arrested over 40 Pasonda robbers. In April last year, the Special Task Force of Delhi Police had arrested four members of a Pasonda-based gang who imitated the motorcycle-borne thieves of popular Bollywood movie Dhoom.