Raigarh, October 31 (IANS). The Local Crime Branch (LCB) of Maharashtra’s Raigarh district busted an inter-state theft gang in a sensational sting operation. Shahnawaz Qureshi, the mastermind of this gang who targeted rich houses with luxury cars, was arrested along with his three associates from Uttar Pradesh. The police seized gold worth Rs 15 lakh 50 thousand from their possession. Investigation revealed that the gang was the mastermind of burglaries in at least 10 houses in Raigarh, Satara and Ratnagiri districts. The special team of LCB took this action under the leadership of Superintendent of Police Aanchal Dalal. According to sources, the gang used cars like luxury SUVs like Fortuner or Innova, which allowed them to move around easily after the theft. These thieves would enter wealthy areas in the dark of night and loot cash, gold and valuables. Shahnawaz Qureshi, who was the leader of the gang, was earlier wanted for serious crimes like murder, attempt to murder and Arms Act. To avoid arrest, he made the excuse of illness for a long time and hid in a rural area of ​​Uttar Pradesh. During the arrest, the police seized 22 carats of gold, which was the bulk of the stolen goods. In addition, other stolen items such as cash, jewelery and electronics were also recovered from the gang. Police said, “The gang members were found in a village in Satara. We conducted the raid after 48 hours of surveillance. Shahnawaz admitted that they used to target the coastal districts of Maharashtra, where the rich have more bungalows.” The police estimated that the gang looted goods worth more than Rs 50 lakh in the last one year. Last month itself, gold worth Rs 10 lakh was stolen from three houses in Satara in one night. –IANS SCH Share this story Tags