New Delhi, Nov 21 (PTI) Four men belonging to an infamous gang of wedding thieves were arrested from Delhi-Gurugram border here, police said on Thursday.
Raj Kumar alias Raju, 50, Sumit, 30, Mohit, 19, and Karan, 30, were arrested from near Ghitorni Metro station Wednesday, when they were planning to target a wedding, they said.
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According to Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sanjay Bhatia, the thieves belong to the infamous 'Band Baja Baraat' gang, which gets active during the wedding seasons in Delhi and other parts of the country.
Members of the gang, mostly originating in Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh, would use children or women to get access to weddings in posh localities and would make off with bags or any valuable articles.
The four arrested Wednesday hail from Kadiya village of Rajgarh, a region notorious for supplying young recruits to organised crime syndicates involved in wedding thefts across India, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Vikram Singh said.
"Known for the practice of 'renting' family members to criminal gangs, the natives of Kadiya and Gulkhedi villages often enter into agreements known as 'Anubandh', wherein families receive financial compensation for sending their members to participate in theft operations," Singh in a press statement said.
These young recruits, trained to blend in at wedding functions, carry out crimes without drawing any attention towards them, he said.
The practice is seen as a form of a social contract, under which poor families are exploited by criminals for thefts at weddings, typically targeting the wealthy.
The accused during interrogation revealed they mostly looked for bags containing jewellery or cash at weddings.
On November 12, Sumit and Karan stole cash and valuables from two weddings in outer Delhi's Alipur. On November 17, they stole a bag filled with cash and valuables from another wedding at a farmhouse in Maidan Garhi in Chhatarpur area
While the two entered the venue, Raj Kumar and Mohit waited outside in a private taxi and coordinated with them through mobile phones.
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