Varanasi: A joint team of Lanka and Bhelupur police arrested three members of an organised inter-district theft gang near a vacant plot close to Ravindrapuri Petrol Pump on Tuesday.Police said the arrests were made on the basis of a tip-off, CCTV footage and other electronic evidence.The accused have been identified as Sameer Sonkar (21) of Bhagwanpur; Karan Sonkar (20) of Nagwa; and Himanshu Giri (19), a native of Rohtas district in Bihar, currently residing in Bhagwanpur. Police recovered a stolen scooty, two white-metal ingots valued at around Rs4 lakh, and Rs50,000 cash from their possession.The arrests are related to several cases registered at Lanka police station. One of the cases was lodged on July 22, after a complainant alleged that unidentified miscreants barged inside his house and stole jewellery and damaged property.During interrogation, the accused allegedly confessed that they were addicted to drugs and committed thefts to fund their addiction. They admitted to carrying out thefts in several localities, including Bhagwat Dham Colony in Ramna, Shyamnagar Colony in Dafi, Bengali Colony near Bhagwanpur Mod, and Janki Nagar Colony in Bhelupur.Police said the accused also admitted that silver jewellery stolen from one of the houses was melted with the help of an unidentified person and converted into a small ingot to avoid detection. They allegedly sold stolen goods to passers-by and divided the money among themselves.Sameer also told police that he, Karan and another associate identified as Lulia, had committed theft in Jagatganj area under Chetganj police station. Lulia was arrested earlier while the others were absconding.
