Nagpur: A woman was lodged in Raipur Central Jail, Chhattisgarh, for the past two years on ganja-related charges, while her son remains absconding and is wanted in several criminal cases, including a Rs 45 lakh burglary in Manish Nagar last week.While accused Sheikh Ramjan’s mother, Darbari, continues her sentence in Raipur, he operates underground, evading raids, to rob houses.Police sources said several top burglars’ family members, especially women, are involved in criminal activities, such as disposing of stolen valuables like gold ornaments. The women and others also actively arrange bails and bonds for release after arrests.Beltarodi police, led by senior inspector Mukund Kawade under zonal DCP Rashmitha Rao, are actively hunting for Ramjan, son of Sheikh Darbari, who was lodged in Raipur Central Jail.Ramjan was identified through CCTV footage as one of the key culprits in the Manish Nagar house-breaking. He fled the scene with accomplices, with booty worth Rs 45 lakh. He is likely to have more than 20 cases against him, including many in which his arrests are pending.Amid Ramjan’s criminal activities, his mother, Darbari, was picked up by Raipur police from Nagpur for dealing in narcotics. Sources stated that Ramjan also has a chain-snatching case against him in Raipur.The three others, including notorious burglars Mohd Zakir Mohd Shaheed alias Jabbar, Govind Sakhare, and Ashutosh Ravare — with around 25 cases of theft and burglary against them — are already behind bars. Jabbar, a hardened criminal, operates multiple gangs at Sakkardara, Sonegaon, Ajni, and Khaparkheda. Ramjan was part of Jabbar’s many such area-based modules. Police said that Jabbar’s modus operandi involves entering new areas, recruiting local operatives, executing night-time house-breaks, looting valuables, and then disappearing.Jabbar is linked to break-ins across Maharashtra and neighbouring regions. What makes Jabbar particularly elusive is his sophisticated “legal shield” — a dedicated team of legal experts, bail guarantors, and intermediaries who swiftly file bail applications.Often, Jabbar secured release within three days of arrest, allowing the cycle of crime to repeat: rob, get caught, walk free, and strike again. Police described this as a calculated strategy that undermines law enforcement efforts.Police authorities believe the family’s network blends street-level crime with courtroom manoeuvres, making them difficult to pin down.Trying tougher legal action against such habitual offenders, Beltarodi Police recently invoked Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Section 112 — pertaining to petty organised crime — to designate a four-member burglary gang as an organised group. This step aims to curb easy bails and ensure stricter prosecution for serial house-breakers who create widespread insecurity.Police stated that two cases of burglary at Manish Nagar and Narendra Nagar were detected after arresting the gang. The action recovered stolen items worth Rs 15 lakh, connecting them to multiple unreported burglaries.Except for Ramjan, the rest of the accused are now in Nagpur Central Jail.The operations were led by PSI Kishor Malokar under senior inspector Kawade, supervised by DCP (Zone-4) Rao.Police stress that tagging such gangs under BNS, with its minimum one-year rigorous imprisonment (up to 7 years) and fines, significantly raises the bail threshold and deters repeat offences.
