Palanpur: A gang that allegedly posed as pig catchers to conduct reconnaissance of locked houses during the day and burgled them at night was busted by the Banaskantha local crime branch (LCB) and Panthawada police. Two members of the gang have been arrested with gold ornaments and burglary tools worth Rs 4 lakh, police said on Sunday.“The accused travelled through villages in Banaskantha in pickup vehicles, ostensibly to catch wild pigs that damage agricultural crops. During these visits, they would identify locked houses and return at night to break the locks and steal valuables,” said DM Rathod, inspector, LCB.The gang is suspected of involvement in five burglaries in Banaskantha district and five in Rajasthan.Acting on human intelligence and technical leads, the LCB and local police formed teams to identify the gang members. The teams arrested Jaspalsingh Chikligar, who lives in Panthawada, and Shettisingh alias Shethisingh Chikligar, a resident of Rajasthan who was staying in Dehgam near Gandhinagar.The police are also looking for the gang leader, Jugal Singh, a resident of Dehgam, who is wanted in the case. According to police, he has a history of involvement in more than 25 burglary and robbery cases.Police seized gold ornaments, a motorcycle, two mobile phones and tools allegedly used in burglaries, including metal-cutting scissors, iron crowbars, pliers and a screwdriver.Police said they had targeted houses in Udaipur, Dungarpur, Abu Road, Sirohi and Revdar in Rajasthan.
