A team of the CIA-3 unit of the Karnal police has arrested eight persons, including six thieves, and two scrap dealers for purchasing stolen articles. With their arrest, the police claimed to have solved 24 theft cases in the district.
The accused have been identified as Arun, Sanjeev, Tilak Raj, Aman, Aryan, Saurabh, Gulshan and Gautam.
DSP Rajiv Kumar said the accused belonged to two separate gangs and were involved in multiple theft incidents. The gangs allegedly targeted government schools and anganwadi centres, stealing items used in the mid-day meal scheme and other articles.
The police have recovered 29 LPG cylinders, 13 bags of wheat, two inverter batteries, utensils, including tubs, two auto-rickshaws used in conducting recce and Rs 69,000 from their possession.
During interrogation, the accused confessed to their involvement in 24 thefts. The investigation revealed that one of the accused had a criminal record and was even lodged in a jail.
For the past several months, incidents of burglary and theft had been reported from several government schools and anganwadi centres.
The accused were produced before a local court, which remanded them in three-day police custody.
The DSP said the accused targeted isolated government institutions during night hours.
