Kolkata: Police have arrested four men from Gujarat’s Anand district for allegedly posing as Hindu deities and stealing valuables from unsuspecting pedestrians across the city.
The accused — Anil Ramju Salat, Dhiru Kalovai Salat, Samirbhai Salat, and Raju Kumar — were detained from the Hastings area following a complaint registered at Jorasanko Police Station.
According to investigators, the group disguised themselves as deities such as Goddess Kali and Lord Shiva, approaching people at traffic signals and busy streets under the pretext of seeking alms. While engaging victims emotionally and appealing to religious sentiments, they allegedly stole wallets and mobile phones.
The arrests were made based on leads obtained during the interrogation of two other accused, Mohammad Shahnawaz and Mohammad Samir, who were earlier arrested in a mobile theft case under Girish Park Police Station limits. Acting on specific inputs, police tracked down the four suspects and took them into custody.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the group may have carried out similar thefts in multiple cities using the same modus operandi. Police are now probing inter-city links and examining whether more individuals are involved in the network.
