The senior cops have instructed station officers of all 39 police stations to keep an eye on the movements of unwanted people (vendors and pheriwalas), especially in posh colonies and areas where they could possibly strike. Besides, the police are also engaging members of mohallah suraksha committee, advising them to keep an eye on pheriwala both men and women and intimate police if they point out any suspicious activity in their respective areas.
In fact, investigations into the recent Georgetown triple murder-cum-dacoity case established that members of Kanjar tribe had targeted the house and escaped with booty worth several lakhs, has set alarm bells ringing in the police department. The tribe members operate in an organized way. The gang has its own intelligence wing deputing fairer sex to collect the information about the houses which could be targeted. The police personnel are finding it difficult to break their network in the city. These gangs have now started recruiting local goons for their benefits. Sometimes, the tribe members bring their own designed vehicles to take away the looted booty. .
Police officials too admitted, the involvement of tribal gangs was reported in three recent incidents including Georgetown, Jhunsi and Naini. The senior cops have asked the district police officials to chalk out an effective strategy to counter the attack of criminal tribe. Cops are busy in compiling details about these groups.
Police study reveal that the gang members after traversing through their native villages located at Rajasthan, MP, Gujrat and UP usually strike in the eastern belt of the state including Allahabad, Varanasi, Jaunpur, Gorakhpur and Mirzapur and decamp with valuables after killing the family members in case they resist the loot.
For them , the killing is an essential part of their activity as according to the belief of the tribal, their presiding deity does not accept the offering of loot unless it is not accompanied by the blood of its rightful owner. However, police said that it was not necessary that they would kill the victims but they don't want any hindrance or obstacle to their work.
While tribal gangs are also going hi-tech and changing their modus operandi to dodge the men-in-uniform, police have their own intelligence wing as the best option to take them on.
Latest intelligence inputs reveal that tribal gangs, specially Kachha Baniyan\Bawaria and Kanjars pose themselves as laboures\masons or small vendors and sellers.
The police, however, are preparing a list of wanted criminal tribe members and would also announce a cash rewards on their heads.
As per the interrogation reports of arrested tribal gang members, each and every tribal group operates in different style. Studying the major cases executed by them, special attention has been paid to some districts of state like Etah, Mathura, Agra, Farrukhabad and Muradabad.
The criminal tribes usually prefer a railway tracks (on the condition of not having trucks) or highways (for having their own designed trucks which have secret boxes to hide looted valuables and weapons), for escape. Police have decided to carry out nakabandis at inter-district borders to track them down.
A senior IPS official told TOI, all the newly constructed or under-construction colonies and mela areas have been taken under police scanner. He added that station officers have been asked to conduct routine patrolling.
He, however, maintained that police have come to know that some tribe gang members are changing their physique and dressing style to dodge the police. Officials here claim, the area of operation for tribes was limited to the outskirts or villages during early 90s but now they are targeting houses in heart of the city leaving cops in a catch-22 situation.
SP trans-yamuna VK Mishra told TOI that the police have intensified vigil in trouble prone areas. Instructions have been issued to tighten the noose around wanted persons. Besides, the district police have also been exchanging inputs with neighbouring state police in the same regard.