Shutter thieves from Bihar

The Shutter Thieves from Bihar
They belonged to a tiny village in district Begusarai in Bihar. They were six youth who worked together. They would leave their village after Deepavali and go to big towns to work. They would work hard and periodically send heavy money orders to the family. They would take leave during Holi festival and return home. After a few days stay, they would get out again and this time, remain away until Deepavali. During festival time, they would be back home again for a month or six weeks.
The type of work they did was quite peculiar. It was stealing from cash boxes from locked shops. Gore was the thinnest of the lot. About five and a half feet tall, he just weighed forty kilos. In addition, he was an excellent contortionist who could squeeze into hidden crevices and gaps. Their modus operendi was quite simple. They would first rent a house in the outskirts or suburbs of a big city or town. One of them, acting as a cook and a housekeeper, would look after the house. The others would start their work at 10.00pm. They would move about as a group and walk through the closed markets looking at the rolling shutters and their locks. After midnight, when everything was quiet, would start their work. Small shutters are locked at one end. Wider shutters had two bolts and locks, one at either end. A three feet carbon steel rod, strapped to the thigh was the only instrument needed.
The five a them would stand outside shop smoking and talking. A group of people who have just left a movie hall and were enjoying a smoke together. In single lock shutters the key point would be the opposite end. In double lock shutters, it would be the center. The rod would be slid into the gap between floor and the shutter. A gentle yank and the door would balloon out by about eight to ten inches. Gore would squeeze in and door would be closed. The others would stand guard, while Gore collected all the valuable and cash. Gentle taps on the shutter from either side would act as a signal and when the coast was clear outside, the rolling-shutter would be pushed up and Gore would roll out. They struck Chennai about two years ago and notched a score of three hundred and ten shops. The count could have been a lot more, but this was the number reported. The cops could find no clues except for fingerprints. The prints were the same at all places. Cops would later tally them with Gore. Nevertheless, at that time, cops were clueless. Before any breakthrough could be achieved, the thefts stopped. The gang had shifted to another venue.
This year about two weeks before Holi, they stuck again. Their luck in Chennai had probably run out, because their very first attempt was a disaster. Gore was inside a hardware store. The four boys were outside. A patrol jeep came from a distance and the four, waiting outside, panicked and dispersed. One of them however hid at a distance and observed the cops. A clever Sub Inspector who found the youth and their sudden disappearance, a little suspicious, led the patrol. He stopped the jeep near the shutter and inspected closely. It appeared to be deformed. He summoned help on wireless, the owner was contacted and Gore was caught red handed. He was beaten up in the Police Station and resisted for a while. He then opened up and blurted out everything. The cops raided Ambatoor but the house was empty.
After appropriate Punjab cuts and pattai, Gore agreed to tell everything. He confessed to all the old four hundred shutter thefts. He also promised to point to his friends and accomplices, but on one condition. After arrest, they should be kept in a different prison block. If they were with him, they would kill him. He also told that all the boys would surely be in their village during Holi festival, which was in two weeks. A team of fifteen cops accompanied by Gore left to Bihar-Begusarai. They landed in the village right in the middle of Holi festival. The other eight youth were sozzled on Bhang. The cops did an illegal arrest and brought them back to Chennai. A burglary was staged, they were all arrested and remanded. The cops kept up their promise. While gore was in sixth block, his colleagues, all eight of them were in security block.
“But Gore, you had only told me about six accomplices!” I asked.
He replied with a smile “Well doctor sir, there eight men are our old family enemies from our next village. Do you think I am a fool to take cops to my village? My brothers are now waking in Mumbai!”