Gang of thieves held in J&K looted houses donning combat uniforms (Ld)

Gang of 10 thieves used to loot houses donning combat uniforms, dummy weapons LdSrinagar, Aug 24 (IANS) The gang of 10 thieves arrested from Srinagar on Tuesday used to don combat uniforms and display dummy weapons to loot houses during cordon and search operations by the security forces.The police said on Tuesday that they had received complaints from the residents of Srinagar that their houses were looted during cordon and search operations by men donning army uniforms.The police said these reports were received at the Parimpora police station in Srinagar from Zainakote and Maloora areas on the outskirts of the city.With the help of technical data, a special investigating team (SIT) of the police arrested some suspects during multiple raids."The gang used to target those houses where marriage ceremonies were taking place or where marriages had already been solemnised. They would loot cash and gold from such houses," Perbeet Singh, SP (West), Srinagar, told reporters.Four dummy AK-47 rifles, 4 dummy pistols, combat uniforms and a Maruti car were recovered from the gang.Gold worth Rs 20 lakh and cash to the tune of Rs 3 lakh were also recovered from their possession.
--IANS sq/arm