3 of Irani gang held for chain snatchings; 975 gms gold seized

Three members of an Irani chain-snatching gang were today arrested by Cyberabad Police and 975 grams of gold worth Rs 27 lakh was recovered from them. Accused Fathe Akram Ali and Hyder Akram Ali, both from Nagpur district of Maharashtra, Javeed Ali of Bihar and two other absconding accused formed a gang and allegedly committed as many as 32 chain snatching offences in the limits of LB Nagar Zone of Cyberabad Commissionerate, police said. The accused are all members of Irani tribal community which came from Iran to India during the Mughal period and settled in different parts of the country. The five accused are all close relatives and addicted to luxurious life and spend huge amount of money on it. Since their earnings were not sufficient to meet their lavish expenditure, they decided to commit property offences and snatchings to gain easy money, Cyberabad Police release said. Earlier, they used to commit snatching offences in UP and Bihar, but they were not getting good quantity of gold from the victims. Later, they decided to commit the offence in Hyderabad and other south Indian cities, it said. The gang committed 3 to 6 snatching offences at one go by moving on motorbikes, police said adding, that they also seized two two-wheelers used during the chain snatchings. The modus operandi of the gang members was to pose as police officers and target women, police said.