UP STF busts gang of dacoits, 9 held

With the arrest of nine people, the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) Saturday claimed to have busted a gang of dacoits involved in several highway robberies, including the goods laden trucks of e-commerce giant Amazon.

The gang used to target trucks carrying goods on highways in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan, the Noida unit of the STF said.

"The accused persons were held on the service road near the Gautam Buddh University in Greater Noida at around 12.30 pm following an encounter with an STF team," it said, adding that a huge quantity of robbed items, including mobile phones, computer monitors and footwear, were seized," it said.

"The gang targeted trucks carrying goods of e-commerce giant Amazon the most," the agency said.

The STF said 388 mobile phones, 129 pairs of shoes, 10 pairs of sandals, belts, LED and TFT monitors, Rs 70,000 cash and two firearms were seized from their possession.

"A Honda City car and two Maruti Eco vehicles used by the gang in the crimes have been impounded," it said.

The arrested persons were identified as Navneet Atri, Sandeep, Bhanu Tomar, Karan Thodia, Badal Sharma, Rakesh, Nitin, Rahul and Balram Chandeliya.

They hailed from various places, including Bulandhshahr,Gautam Buddh Nagar Aligarh, Fairdabad, Bhivani and Delhi, the agency said.

The kingpin of the gang, Navneet (24), a resident of Haryana, had also designed three sensational robberies in the state earlier this year, and was wanted in those cases as well, the STF said.

During probe, he told the officials that after clearing class 10 he had moved to Gurgaon and had started driving trucks as a professional.

It was then when he met a person named Sanjay, who was from Faridabad and was already into robbing Amazon's trucks. Navneet started working with Sanjay and together they robbed several trucks of the company.

"Five or six months back, they had looted a truck laden with goods of the Amazon company at the Hero Honda Chowk in Faridabad. Since April, he formed a gang and also started using firearms to intimidate the truckers and their aides during the crime," the STF said.

The arrested persons were booked under IPC sections 395 for dacoity, 397 for dacoity with intention to hurt, 328 for causing hurt by means of poison, etc., with intent to commit an offence, among others and the Arms Act.