Vadodara: A Rajasthan-based gang that struck during religious processions and events in various states has been busted by crime branch, with two persons arrested. The gang of nine allegedly snatched gold chains from four women during the Rath Yatra in the city last month.Raopura police had registered complaints from the women and began searching for the accused based on CCTV footage. “The modus operandi pointed to the involvement of the ‘Bavariya gang’, which is notorious for snatching gold chains in various states. We sent our team to Rajasthan to track down the gang,” the police said.The cops stayed in Rajasthan for a few days and got intelligence on the gang members allegedly involved in the robberies in the city. Police nabbed Jitendrasingh Bahadursingh and Aarti Bavariya from Alwar and brought them to the city. Their interrogation revealed that seven other members of their gang had accompanied them to the city.Police said all nine arrived in the city ahead of the Rath Yatra and joined the procession to snatch gold chains. Crime branch sleuths said the gang would follow the social media pages of religious organisations to keep a track on religious ceremonies and processions. They also got added to some WhatsApp groups to get information about such events.The gang members live in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab, and gather ahead of such religious events to commit crimes. All of them arrive together and fan out amid devotees to snatch gold chains. Six of the nine members of this gang are women. Crime branch recovered four gold chains worth over Rs 4.60 lakh from the accused. A search for the seven others is on.
