LUCKNOW: Their belief in the lord’s promise, as mentioned in the Gita that “I shall liberate you from all your sins”, went a little too far. Police in Lucknow nabbed three robbers, all in their early 20s, who strangely used part of the booty to fund their pilgrimages and to organize bhandaras (charity feasts).
“When the cops questioned them about the reason for holding bhandaras, they said that a priest had advised them to do so to wash away their sins,” a senior police official said.
The lynchpin, Umesh Sahu, owned a small hardware shop while Rohit Kumar and Sumit Maurya assisted him on the shop.
According to police records, the gang had targeted two women on June 7, and decamped with their belongings.
“Based on the CCTV camera footage, we traced the bikers and arrested them,” said ADCP, South Zone, Shashank Singh.
Police sources added that the bike used in the robbery was also seized, and efforts are ongoing to uncover other criminal acts committed by the gang.
According to police, the gang began to target people when they wanted to go on a pilgrimage but didn’t have enough resources.
“They wanted to go on a pilgrimage but lacked the funds. To fulfil that desire, they committed robberies. Later, to atone for their crimes, they organized charity bhandaras,” said the police.
