Team formed to nab fake cops

Modern gadgets for police force soon: Minister

A special team has been constituted to track down the fake police gang which went on a duping spree in the City on Sunday.

Speaking at a property parade here on Monday, Home Minister K J George directed the police to take steps to root out the ‘Irani gang.’ He said several anti-social elements were attempting to set up their base in the City on account of the growing prosperity of Bangalore.

George said the State government was taking steps to equip police with modern gadgets to tackle hi-tech crimes.

He said apart from filling the vacancies, equipment such as surveillance cameras will be provided to the Central Crime Branch and to State Intelligence.

Police canteen

The minister said government has approved the proposal for establishing police canteens. “The canteens will be exclusive to police officials and supplies from this store are excluded from value added tax,” he said.

Commending the City police for recovering stolen valuables worth Rs 8.3 crore, George said holding property parade at regular intervals restores the confidence of people in police and also encourages them to report crimes.

City Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar said a special team has been formed to nab the fake police gang and the investigation would be taken up on priority basis.

The gang, which targets senior citizens, struck in several areas of the City again on Sunday morning. In a series of five incidents, the gang members made away with 315 grams of gold jewellery. The modus operandi, which remained the same in all five crimes, involved one or more men posing as police officers, stopping senior citizens, warning them that a murder-robbery had happened nearby and asking them to remove their ornaments. The valuables were then switched with packets containing pebbles.

A senior official handling City crime said the “Irani” gang from Bidar, which police had busted in the City last year, was behind the crimes.

“Members of the same gang have been targeting many metropolises such as Ahmedabad, Surat, Chennai and Mumbai, using the same modus operandi,” he said and added that the City police had also busted a segment of the gang a month ago. According to the official, the gang has a large number of career thieves. “When we bust one module, others are activated. This is why it is becoming difficult to completely uproot them,” he said.

The official, however, called on the public to remain vigilant. “Even after repeated incidents, it is sad that people are falling prey to the same trick,” he said. “Even if a policeman shows his identity card, the public need not remove their jewellery,” he added.