Adilabad: Adilabad district police have arrested two Bangladeshi nationals and an Indian accomplice for their alleged involvement in a series of house burglaries and vehicle thefts across multiple states. Police recovered stolen property worth around ₹8 lakh, including 73.05 grams of gold, 151.30 grams of silver, five iPhones, two Samsung mobile phones, one Apple iPad, a motorcycle and cash.
Addressing a press conference on August 3, at the District Police Headquarters in Adilabad, Superintendent of Police Akhil Mahajan, IPS, identified the arrested accused as Mohammed Jauni Ali alias Jani Ali (30) and Mohammed Ruman Ali (33), both Bangladeshi nationals, and Tarun Singh (29), a resident of Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.
SP Mahajan said the two Bangladeshi nationals had allegedly entered India 10 to 12 times since 2015. According to the investigation, they would enter India through local brokers, commit thefts across different states, transport the stolen valuables back to Bangladesh and sell them there to evade arrest.
“They used to enter India, commit thefts, take away the stolen property, return to Bangladesh and sell it there. According to them, they have entered India 10 to 12 times,” the SP said.
He said the accused disguised themselves as utensil and bucket vendors during the daytime to survey residential areas before carrying out burglaries at night. “During the daytime, they sold or pretended to sell utensils, buckets and similar household items. At night, they identified targets and committed thefts,” Mahajan said.
According to the SP, the gang had allegedly operated in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, including theft cases reported from Amaravati, Nagpur, Chitradurga, Hubballi, Jabalpur, Bhopal and Jaipur. He added that although several offences had been registered against them, they had managed to evade arrest until now.
Mahajan said the gang comprises around 12 members, who allegedly travel from Bangladesh specifically to commit thefts in India. Some members became acquainted with one another while lodged in Indian prisons during previous arrests. Tarun Singh, an Indian national, also met the Bangladeshi accused in jail and later joined the gang, he said.
Explaining their recent movements, the SP said the accused entered India again around July 10 or 11. They first reached Bhopal, where they allegedly stole an FZ motorcycle, before travelling to Nagpur, where they committed another theft. Police have recovered the stolen property from the Nagpur case as well as the motorcycle stolen in Bhopal.
The accused later stayed in Adilabad for two days but were unable to move around due to heavy rains. After committing a theft, they reportedly spent a night at the Gudihatnoor bus stand before travelling through Mahur, Kinwat, Nanded and Yavatmal. As they were unsuccessful in committing further thefts there, they returned to Adilabad to target another location, where they were arrested by district police.
Mahajan said the stolen property involved in the Adilabad case has been fully recovered, and police have also achieved complete recovery in the Nagpur theft case. The stolen motorcycle from Bhopal has likewise been recovered.
The SP said some cases against the accused remain pending in Odisha, and the concerned police authorities in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh would be informed. Those states may seek the custody of the accused through prisoner transit (PT) warrants for further investigation.
During the investigation, police also recovered a Bangladeshi identity card from the accused. Mahajan said they had allegedly obtained a fake Aadhaar card in Jaipur in 2015, using it to pose as Indian citizens while carrying out criminal activities.
The three accused have been remanded to judicial custody, while police are continuing their investigation into the wider network and other members of the 12-member gang, the SP added.
