Bhopal News: Capital Police Shares Details Of 27 Accused To Other States

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Bhopal Police have shared details of the raid with police forces across the country, including photographs and names of 27 accused. Following this teams from Rajasthan have already reached Bhopal while police from Indore and Barwani are set to take remand of some suspects.

Despite a major crackdown on the Irani gang in Bhopal, the alleged mastermind Raju Irani, his brothers and his close aide Mastan Irani continue to evade arrest, raising serious questions over the ability of police to net the top leadership of the interstate criminal network.

While dozens of criminals are now behind bars, even police officials admit that without arresting the kingpins, dismantling the gang completely remains unlikely.

Safe shelter for criminals

Investigations reveal that Irani Dera has long functioned as a safe haven for robbers, thieves and fraudsters. Of the nearly 70 families residing there almost every household reportedly has members with criminal records. The gang is known for executing highly planned frauds and robberies by impersonating officials from departments like sales tax, customs, CBI and police.

The gang allegedly operates in a structure where stolen money is handed over to the “sardar,” who decides individual shares and even supports families of arrested members. Leadership is chosen through a council with seniority based on the gravity and number of criminal cases.

Fingerprints taken

Police have taken fingerprints of all 32 arrested accused and fed them into the NAFIS system linking at least seven to serious crimes in multiple states. Several accused were also found using fake identities, prompting police to add cheating and forgery charge

The leadership of the Irani Dera in Aman Colony, Bhopal, is currently controlled by two brothers Raju Irani and Zakir Irani.

Police records also identified five key masterminds who allegedly run and support this criminal network:

Raju Irani alias Abid Ali is described as the chief kingpin of the Irani gang operating across India. He has more than 20 criminal cases registered against him, including major robberies in Delhi and Jaipur. He allegedly travelled to Iran using a fake passport and is wanted under Maharashtra’s MCOCA. Recently, he was accused of attacking a woman inside the Dera but evaded arrest.