2 gangs busted; 5 arrested in Samba

Jammu, Oct 6: Police said on Sunday that they have busted two inter-district gangs with the arrest of five thieves in Samba.

A police spokesperson stated that the arrests were made while investigating a series of theft cases in various areas of the district. “Five notorious thieves were apprehended, and stolen cash, along with six motorbikes, was recovered from their illegal possession. This was part of the investigation into thefts, including those from shops in Main Market Samba and several motorbike thefts in Rakh Amb Talli, SIDCO Samba, and the Supwal area,” he said.

In the first incident, unknown thieves broke into five different shops in Main Market Samba and made off with cash during the night of July 7-8, 2024. In the second incident, multiple motorcycle thefts were reported in Pangdour, Rakh Amb Talli, SIDCO Samba, and Nanake Chak.

“Acting on these reports, several cases—including FIR No. 184/2024, FIR No. 251/2024, FIR No. 247/2024, FIR No. 248/2024, and FIR No. 249/2024—were registered at Police Station Samba, and an investigation was initiated,” the spokesperson said.

He added that, recognizing the seriousness of the matter, the DySP Hqrs Samba immediately constituted different police teams, led by the SHO Samba and the In-charge of Police Posts in Rakh Amb Talli, SIDCO, and Supwal, to work on these theft cases.

“During the investigation, after extensive efforts involving technical analysis and human intelligence, police rounded up two suspects in the shop theft cases: Faqir Hussain, son of Liyaqat Ali, a resident of Chak Drar, district Kathua (currently residing in SIDCO Phase-1 Samba), and Shah Din, son of Isham Din, a resident of Chak Bagga, Lashipura, district Kathua, for questioning,” the spokesperson reported.

During sustained questioning, both accused confessed to their involvement in the theft of five shops in the Samba market. The stolen cash was recovered based on their disclosures, along with a motorbike bearing registration No. JK08P-5839, which they had purchased with the stolen money.

“Shah Din has also been implicated in theft cases registered against him at Police Station Rajbagh and Police Station Kathua. Similarly, during the investigation of the motorcycle theft cases, police detained several suspects and ultimately focused on one suspect, Abdul Karim alias Bachu, son of Mohd Sharif, a resident of Chak Manga Gujran. After sustained questioning, he confessed to committing all the thefts along with his associates,” the spokesperson stated.

Following this, police conducted raids in various locations in Kanachak, Gajansoo, and Samba, resulting in the arrest of two co-accused: Abu Bilal, son of Mohd Yousaf, a resident of Burj Tanda Samba, and Haneef Ali, son of Mohd Yaqoob, a resident of Gajansoo, tehsil Marh, district Jammu.

Based on the disclosures of these accused, police teams recovered five stolen motorcycles from their possession. “Further investigation into the cases is ongoing,” the police said.