Dozen women nabbed for shoplifting at stall

LUCKNOW: They used to move in a group. A few of them engaged the shopkeeper with various demands, a few others used to stand just behind those women and slowly pull the items nearer and keep them in a bag. After ensuring that everything was okay, the women used to flee the spot while those who had engaged the shopkeepers followed them soon.
Aashiana police late on Sunday night, nabbed about a dozen women who were on the prowl at Lucknow Mahotsav.All the women came into police net after a woman was caught red-handed by a stall owner at Lucknow Mahotsav.
The women were identified as Komal, wife of Vishal, Sangeeta (name changed), daughter of Ramprasad, Chandrawati, wife of Chhedilal, Chandaniya, wife of Munshi, Anju, wife of Jaiprakash, Neha, wife of Ramesh, Rekha, wife of Madan, Punna, wife of Rajendra, Sapna, wife of Keshaw and Rewati (name changed), daughter of Rajendra, all residents of Gopalpuri locality under Krishnanagar police station area.
The woman caught at the Lucknow Mahotsav had tried to steal some items from the stall number of F-12, when the owner Shabbir Hussain, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, spotted her misdeed and caught hold of her. Soon a few other women also assembled at the spot. The stall owner immediately informed the police present on duty at the Mahotsav.
The police then nabbed the women and brought them to the police station. On their information, the police nabbed other members of the gang. The police said that all these women belong to Tharu tribe and reside in the Krishnanagar area. Police said that the women members had reached Shabbir's stall at the mahotsav site. While a few of them sat at the stall and started selecting shawls and bedsheets, the other few as per their modus operandi stood just behind the women selecting the items.
At an appropriate time, one of the women pulled one of the items and tried to keep it in the bag when the stall owner spotted her misdeed and caught hold of her.
The police said that though the women had been involved in such crimes earlier also, they had not been booked in any of the cases till now. The police said that the matter was being further investigated.