Gang targeting construction material at rail lines busted, 10 held

Ten alleged members of a gang, who looted construction material from railway lines and have been wanted in nearly a dozen such cases, have been arrested in Greater Noida, police said on Tuesday.

The accused were held on Monday from Surajpur police station area while they were planning to strike an under-construction railway line nearby, the police said.

"They were held while planning the loot bid at a cemetery near Paramount Gold Forest society. The gang had planned to held hostage the security guards at the railway construction site," Senior Superintendent of Police, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Vaibhav Krishna said.

Four illegal firearms along with ammunition, two knives were seized from their possession while two commercial pick-up trucks that they used to transport looted construction material were impounded from the spot, he said.

Those held have been identified as Sudheer Yadav, Ajay Yadav, Kuldeep, Avadhpal Singh, Inder Narayan, Harisharan Singh, Ramesh, Rahul, Rajneesh, and Shyam Kumar, the police said.

The gang was involved in at least 10 cases which are registered in various police stations of Gautam Buddh Nagar, while other details are being worked out, the police said.

A fresh FIR has been lodged against them at Surajpur police station under Indian Penal Code sections 194 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery), 379 (theft), 307 (murder attempt), the police added.