Noida: Burglars have devised a novel way of testing from a distance whether a house is locked or occupied. They are using slingshots to shoot pebbles at doors and windows of closed houses. When they draw a response, they move on. When they don’t, the house becomes a target.The modus operandi came to light with the arrest of two men — Firoz alias Bablu and Ashish — members of one such gang, allegedly behind a series of burglaries in locked houses over the last four months, on Saturday.Additional DCP Manisha Singh said Firoz, the gang’s mastermind, came to Noida from Bulandshahr and was living in Sector 93 when arrested. A Class III dropout with 12 criminal cases against him, including theft, robbery and offences under the Gangsters Act, he maintained a cover as an Uber driver during the day while conducting recces with associates at night. His accomplice, Ashish, is a BCom graduate and has five prior criminal cases and has previously served jail time.The gang operated methodically. Travelling on stolen bikes across residential colonies and sectors, they scanned for houses showing signs of absence — uncollected newspapers, unlit windows at night. To confirm it was vacant, they fired small stones at doors or windows using a slingshot. No response meant a likely empty house.Once satisfied, the burglars entered using specialised tools and worked fast, completing a theft in 15 to 30 minutes, police said. They targeted lockers, cupboards and bedrooms, making off with jewellery, cash, laptops, mobile phones, electronic appliances and other valuables. The use of stolen bikes complicated efforts to trace them.Following the arrests from Sector 29, a stolen motorcycle, tools used for cutting locks, Rs 20,500 cash, two knives and valuables were recovered from the accused by a Sector 20 police station team.ACP Praveen Singh said the accused admitted during questioning to multiple burglaries. Police are now cross-referencing their movements against a list of unsolved theft cases and believe the disclosures could help crack several pending investigations.Cops are also tracking the gang’s disposal network, including the people who bought or helped offload stolen goods.
