Notorious Chaddi gang sentenced to 7 yrs in prison

Hyderabad: A court here sentenced seven members of the notorious interstate Guman gang or chaddi gang as they are infamously known to five years in prison on 20 April.

The gang members are from Akola district in Maharashtra but during the past two years they have been active in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Telangana. They travel in trains, selling bed sheets and blankets while familiarizing themselves with the areas.

The gang was formed three years ago. The members came to Hyderabad as toys and bed sheet sellers and lived in tents erected in the outskirts of the city. They selected isolated colonies, close to highways or small forests. At night, they would break open into the houses and rob them by threatening the residents with weapons.

Initially, they targeted residential areas located on the outskirts of the city. They would hide in the bushes till midnight and then attack the targets. Recently, they had started targeting apartments in residential colonies. Clad in knickers – hence the name chaddi gang – they robbed homes in the dark.

The gang had committed eight dacoities in the Rachakonda and Nizamabad limits. The Hayathnagar police along with the special operations team (SOT), Rachakonda, arrested the seven-member gang on 29 December 2020 and recovered items worth Rs. 6.55 lakhs from their possession, including 150 grams gold ornaments, 400 grams silver, and Rs. 3,000 cash.

On 18 May 2020, the Rachakonda commissioner of police had invoked the PD Act against all of them and detained them in Cherlapally Central prison.

On Tuesday, the court convicted all seven accused persons to undergo five years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 1,000in each of the three burglary cases.