2 Irani gang members held for duping people

Two suspected members of the Irani gang have been arrested for allegedly robbing elderly women of their jewellery by posing as Crime Branch or CBI officers inspired by a Bollywood film.
On June 21, when Chanderpal, a resident of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, was travelling on SPM Marg towards Kodiya Pul, man signalled him to stop, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Jatin Narwal said.
The man took him to three persons, who were standing at about a distance of 10-15 yards. One of them was being referred to as Sahab, who told Chanderpal that they are from the Delhi Police and needed to check his bag.

But as Chanderpal got suspicious of them, he refused to get his bag checked by them. After which they tried to snatch his bag but failed.
The police, who had been keeping a track of the gang, were informed about the incident. They then nabbed two of the accused, following a brief chase. However, the other two fled from the spot.
The accused arrested were identified as Hasan Aziz Sayyad (19) and Amjad Sameer (42).

Sayyad is wanted in a Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) case in Mumbai while Sameer was arrested in a MCOCA case last year and is currently out on bail.

The accused were allegedly inspired by Akshay Kumar- starrer film 'Special 26', the DCP said.
The gang members, wearing safari suits like 'mufti' (plain clothes) of police officers, used to target elderly people, mostly women or people walking down lonely streets, he said.
One of them used to approach the victim posing as a policeman and narrate a story about a murderer or a notorious robber or chain-snatcher being on the prowl in the area, police said.
Another member of the gang, posing as a comman person, would then arrive at the spot wearing a gold chain and he too would be cautioned by the fake policeman against wearing gold.

The person would then hand over his gold chain and watch to the fake police office, they said.
In most cases, the unsuspecting victim would follow suit and hand over all of her valuables to the fake policeman who would wrap them in a cover and return the same to the owner.
In reality, while talking to the victim, the accused would replace the jewellery with cheap imitations and if there was currency, they would show the victim that they are wrapping it for safekeep and return to them.
By the time the victim would realise that she had been conned, the accused would disappear from the spot.

Narwal said that there are about 40 active members of the Irani gang. At a time, a team comprising four persons usually commits the crime at one place and then move to other areas.
Thereafter, their other accomplices target people in that particular area so that people are not able to recognise them.
The gang leader of the Irani gang, Naasir Hafiz Khan, was arrested in April.