The Chaddi Baniyan Gangs (also known as the Kachcha Baniyan Gangs) are criminal groups operating in parts of India.[1] Gang members perform attacks while wearing only their underwear, which is the source of their name (in the local languages, chaddi, or kachcha are underpants and baniyan is undershirts). In addition to wearing undergarments, members wear face masks and cover themselves in oil or mud to protect their identities.[2]

Attacks

The gangs tend to move in groups of 5-10 people,[3][4] and wear a kurta and lungi. During the day, they gather at transport hubs or disused urban spaces. They conceal themselves as beggars or common labourers to identify potential houses to rob. Before moving on to a different town, the gangs attempt to steal from multiple homes.

Gang members tie up family members, during robberies, and murder anyone who resists. They often arm themselves with rods, axes, knives, and firearms. When they rob a house, they sometimes eat and leave their excrements.

The gang members often rent cars to get around,[5] and are suspected of robbing temples.[6]

Identity

In several cases, members of the gang have been identified as members of the Phase Pardhi tribe.[7][8] In some instances, the culprits have included members of the Pardhi community as well as some others.[5]

Incidents

Gang activity has been reported since 1987.[9][10] They have been active in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh.[11]

Arrests

Four members of a Chaddi Baniyan Gang were arrested in Mumbai in an encounter with Mumbai Police on April 4, 2016.[12]

In February 2016, Chaddi Baniyan gang members were arrested after a siege with police at Borivali.[13]

In the second season of the Indian drama anthology series Delhi Crime (released in 2022), Chaddi Baniyan Gang members are suspected of committing a string of murders in Delhi.[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Chaddi-Baniyan gang returns to haunt city". Times of India. 26 July 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "राजधानी में चड्डी बनियान धारी गिरोह फिर हुआ सक्रिय, Dainik Kausar, 6 May 2014". Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  3. ↑ "कच्छा-बनियान गिरोह की दिल्ली में दस्तक, दो जगह लूट आईबीएन-7 | 30 April 2011". Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  4. ↑ Chaddi-baniyan gang now targets temples, 2010-08-23, Mid-Day
  5. 1 2 "Four ' chaddi- banian' burglars caught; confess to 36 house- breaks". Free Press Journal. 6 August 2013. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "India: Kacha Banian (Kucha Banyan) or Underwear-Undershirt Wearing Group or Shorts-Underwear Clad Group; its members; their activities; their targets; whether they are active throughout the country or just in Uttar Pradesh; whether the group targets Sikhs in particular; and their interests regarding Sikhs". refworld.org. Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada. 10 August 2001. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  7. ↑ Panvel villagers kill a robber of chaddi banyan gang, G Mohiuddin Jeddy, Hindustan Times, Navi Mumbai, 31 May 2011 Archived 29 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Dreaded Phase Pardhis are back, Afternoon Dispatch & Courier, 27 September 2013, Zuber Ansari
  9. ↑ Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, India: Kacha Banian (Kucha Banyan) or Underwear-Undershirt Wearing Group or Shorts-Underwear Clad Group; its members; their activities; their targets, 10 August 2001, IND37634.E, available at http://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be4118.html [accessed 8 May 2014]
  10. ↑ दो साल बाद फिर सक्रिय हुआ कच्छा बनियान गिरोह
  11. ↑ Inter-State burglar gang captured, Hindu, 24 July 2008
  12. ↑ कच्छा-बनियान गिरोह के छह बदमाश गिरफ्तार, Jagran, 18 September 2012
  13. ↑ "Night-long siege, shootout as suspected 'chaddi-banyan' gang breaks into Borivali house". The Times of India. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  14. ↑ Sharma, Anurakti (26 August 2022). "Who are the Chaddi Baniyan gang that have been law & order's nightmare since '90s?". TimesNow. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
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