All-women gang of robbers busted, 3 held

Tribune News Service

Patiala, July 26

For the past two decades, a gang of robbers comprising women had been creating terror across many states by robbing commuters of their belongings, mostly gold ornaments. They had also roped in many young girls in this racket.

On Saturday, the Patiala police arrested three members of this gang and were shocked to know that they had over 100 cases registered against them in various states. The trio had reportedly trained around 25 girls to assist them.

The accused have been identified as Lachmi alias Lachoo, a resident of Langroi in Patiala, Karamjit Kaur of Jolian village in Sangrur, and Roopo of Muradpura village in Patiala. The trio was wanted in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan.

Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mandeep Singh Sidhu said, “Initial probe suggests that Lachmi has over 59 FIRs registered against her. She used to board a bus along with her gang members. While her aides indulged in a conversation with the victim, she robbed him/her of valuables.” Around 29 cases have been registered against Roopo and 33 against Satya.

“We are trying to ascertain whether women trained by Lachmi are still in touch with her,” said Sidhu.

“We firmly believe that the gang members have been involved in around 500 crimes. In many cases, people do not register complaints,” said the police.

“On Saturday, cops signalled a car driver to stop. The driver while speeding away almost hit the policeman. The accused was intercepted, but two gang members — Satya and Manpreet Singh — managed to flee,” said the police.

A case has been registered under Sections 307, 379-B, and 27 of the IPC against the accused at Civil Lines police station.