123 Kolkata: The detective department has arrested six women, all hailing from South India but using Gujarat and Bengal as their base to carry out kepmari, earlier this month. The accused were arrested from outside the Hastings Mazar and Alipore Zoo. All their targets, claimed cops, were males.
The cops also arrested three others of the same gang — Renu Swami (53), Shanti Swami (21), and Rekha Swami (28) — from Alipore zoo. The accused, on Dec 12, looted Rs 14,200 from one Basudev Sarkar (51) while he was travelling from Sealdah to Burrabazar. The gang operates in sets of three or four. Each member is assigned a task — while one spots the targets, another distracts them either by engaging them in argument or hitting them on ribs. The third steals the wallet or phone and hands it to another accomplice who flees the spot.