Delhi Police arrests two notorious 'Thak-Thak’ gang members; Rs 6 lakh cash recovered

New Delhi, July 4 (IANS) Delhi Police’s Anti Auto Theft Squad (AATS) of the South District on Saturday arrested two alleged members of the notorious interstate ‘Thak-Thak’ gang and recovered stolen cash, jewellery, electronic gadgets, burglary tools and the two-wheeler allegedly used in the commission of the crimes.

The operation has also led to the detection of three burglary and theft cases registered in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), police said on Saturday.

According to the South District Police, the accused have been identified as Gangesh Naydu (40), a resident of Dakshinpuri, Ambedkar Nagar, New Delhi, and Vikram (33), also a resident of Dakshinpuri, Ambedkar Nagar. Both are alleged to be habitual offenders with multiple previous criminal involvements in Delhi, Haryana and Karnataka.

Police said the arrests were made following the receipt of specific Intelligence regarding the movement of two active members of the ‘Thak-Thak’ gang.

On June 30, the AATS team received secret information about the suspects’ whereabouts. Acting swiftly on the input, a dedicated team laid a strategic trap and successfully apprehended both accused. During sustained interrogation and subsequent searches, police recovered a large quantity of stolen property, including cash, laptops, mobile phones, jewellery, silver articles, burglary tools and the scooty allegedly used in committing the offences.

The police team involved in the operation comprised Sub-Inspector Shajid Hussain, Assistant Sub-Inspector Ravinder Singh, Woman Head Constable Seema, Head Constable Devendra, Constable Kana Ram, Constable Arvind and Constable Ashok. The operation was carried out under the leadership of Inspector Amit Dutt Sharma, In-charge of AATS, South District, and under the close supervision of ACP (Operations) Rituraj.

During the investigation, police found that both accused were active members of an interstate ‘Thak-Thak’ gang known for targeting people carrying large amounts of cash and valuables. The gang allegedly used distraction techniques to steal bags and other valuables from vehicles before fleeing the spot on a scooty.

Police said technical surveillance, sustained interrogation and other investigative inputs linked the accused to multiple theft and burglary cases across Delhi-NCR. Efforts are underway to identify other members of the gang and establish links between the recovered property and other pending criminal cases.

Investigators said the gang primarily targeted individuals who had withdrawn cash from banks or were otherwise carrying valuable items. One gang member would distract the victim by pointing out an apparent issue with the vehicle, such as a punctured tyre or oil leakage. While the victim’s attention was diverted, another accomplice would quickly steal bags containing cash, jewellery, laptops or other valuables from the vehicle and escape. This method of distraction-based theft is commonly known as the ‘Thak-Thak’ technique.

Police recovered Rs 6 lakh in cash, two mobile phones, one laptop, one MacBook, five gold-coloured bangles, three gold-coloured chains, approximately 1.1 kg of silver articles, one wristwatch, Samsung earbuds, burglary tools and one scooty allegedly used in the commission of the crimes.

The investigation has so far helped police work out three criminal cases. These include E-FIR No. 80003569/2026 registered at Ambedkar Nagar Police Station, New Delhi; E-FIR No. 880034736/2026 registered at Neb Sarai Police Station, New Delhi; and FIR No. 293/2026 registered under Sections 305 and 324(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Sector-65 Police Station in Gurugram, Haryana.

Police records show that Gangesh Naydu has an extensive criminal history with more than 30 previous cases, primarily related to theft under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code. Most of these cases were registered at police stations in Gurugram, including DLF Phase-I, DLF Phase-II, Sushant Lok, Sector-55/56 and Sadar Gurugram. He has also been involved in cases registered in Faridabad and Karnataka.

Similarly, Vikram has several previous criminal cases registered against him in Delhi, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and other locations. Besides theft cases under Section 379 IPC, he has also been booked in robbery cases under Sections 392, 394 and 397 IPC, as well as offences under the Arms Act. His criminal record includes cases registered at Dwarka South, Punjabi Bagh, Paschim Vihar West, Pandav Nagar, Sunlight Colony, Indirapuram, Gurgaon City and several police stations in Gurugram.

Police officials said the extensive criminal records of both accused indicate that they are habitual offenders who have been active in property-related crimes for several years.

The South District Police stated that the successful operation was the result of timely intelligence gathering, effective surveillance, meticulous planning and sustained investigation by the AATS team. The recovery of a substantial quantity of stolen property is expected to provide crucial evidence in multiple pending investigations.

Further investigation is continuing to identify additional associates of the accused, establish their involvement in other unsolved cases, recover the remaining stolen property and dismantle the wider interstate network of the Thak-Thak gang.

–IANS

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