Police crackdown: Mangar Basti raided; 56 criminals arrested, murder cases solved

Hyderabad: As many as 56 suspects and usual offenders, including women, were arrested in a massive cordon and search operation by the West Zone police early on Tuesday in in Mangar Basti in Mallepally.

Over 350 police personnel raided houses in Mangar Basti, where several criminals were suspected to have been hiding. Chain snatchers, vehicle lifters, pickpockets, robbers and burglars are among those arrested.

Police officials say that they have solved more than 100 cases by arresting the offenders.

The police says they have recovered gold, cash, stolen vehicles, and even receipts of pledged stolen ornaments from the houses of the offenders.

“Based on the inputs we collected from our intelligence sources, surprise raids were conducted in Mangar Basti in Mallepally. Criminals wanted in different types of offences, offenders with non-bailable warrants against their names, and other miscreants had found shelter in the area,” said West Zone deputy commissioner of police V. Satyanarayana.

“We are interrogating them and collecting evidence. We are also doing a background check on them,” added Mr Satyanarayana.

Earlier, whenever the police went to the slum to arrest criminals, the women would scare them away. “They would pelt stones, or attempt suicide by cutting their hands or dousing themselves with kerosene. They would strip or throw their children on the ground to injure them. However, this time, we had deployed static teams along with women police officers,” said the DCP.

The police arrested 45 men and 13 women suspects during the raid.

Meanwhile, the West Zone police has claimed that they have solved two murder cases — which took place three weeks ago in Nampally and Habeebnagar — by arresting three juveniles from Mangar Basti during the cordon and search operation.

The juveniles, who are whitener addicts, had killed two rag-pickers for no reason. Police said that by arresting them they have thwarted the attempts of “psycho killers” striking fear in the hearts of citizens.

“Both murders took place within a span of a few days. The victims were homeless people sleeping on the street. Both of them died due to grievous injuries on their head after they were hit with boulders,” said West Zone DCP Satyanarayana.

Though the police started investigating soon after the murders, they could not find any  vital clues leading to the suspects. “The modus operandi of both murderers was similar. The juveniles admitted to the crime after they were arrested” said the DCP.

Investigation officials said the youngsters killed homeless people for fun. “They killed the victims while they were sleeping without any provocation. This case is being investigated further,” Mr Satyanarayana said.