Delhi’s ‘lifafa’ gangs busted

New Delhi, Nov 20: Three "lifafa" gangs operating in the national capital were busted and eight people were arrested in separate incidents, police said on Thursday.

The accused used to rob people after offering them a lift in their car, according to police.

By posing as policemen, they would ask victims to put their cash and valuables in an envelope. To gain the confidence of the victims, they also used to play pre-recorded voice messages on their communication devices which looked like walkie-talkies, police said.

Acting on a tip-off that members of one such gang were about to come near the fruit market in R K Puram, police laid a trap at 8.30 pm on Wednesday.

"Three persons were seen coming towards the market in a car but when they were signalled to stop, they tried to flee. They were apprehended after a brief chase," Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Ingit Pratap Singh said.

During interrogation, they disclosed the details of two more gangs active in south Delhi. Later, raids were conducted at Trilokpuri and five more people were arrested, Singh said.

Those arrested have been identified as Israr (23), Pradeep (35), Kamal (32), Aman (23), Uma Shankar (56), Nazim (23), Ankit (29), all residents of Trilokpuri, and Monu (30), a resident of Geeta Colony.

Police recovered gold jewellery, three communication devices, 100 envelopes, Delhi Police masks from their possession and impounded three cars, Singh added.