Two women carrying children, in a hurry to get into a three-wheeler. Hardly suspicious, but then jewellery of commuters began disappearing, cases got registered at a brisk clip, and the police began looking into the disappearances.Police suspect more members of the network may still be operating in other cities and are trying to trace them. (HT Photo)In the end the two women - Bindu alias Chinki, 45, Geeta Devi, 50 - were arrested by the Krishna Nagar police on Saturday, along with their male accomplice, Narsingh, 25. All three are natives of Gorakhpur.The Krishna Nagar cops poured over footage from 150 CCTv cameras across the city.Jewellery and cash worth around ₹6 lakh, along with a Bolero SUV allegedly used in the crimes, were recovered from them.“The gang functioned less like an organised crime group and more like a travelling family unit that shifted from city to city, staying in rented hotel rooms or temporary roadside settlements before moving again to avoid suspicion,’’ said additional DCP (South) Vasanth Rallapalli, while addressing newspersons.“Bindu alias Chinki acted as the gang’s leader, while Narsingh drove the Bolero ferrying members between crowded crossings, metro stations and transport hubs.“The women members would stand near busy auto and tempo stands with children to avoid attracting attention and scout for targets wearing gold jewellery,” the ADCP added at the press conference.“Their method depended entirely on confusion,” a police officer said. “The moment a target boarded a shared auto, multiple gang members would try to squeeze into the same vehicle together, deliberately creating pushing and chaos. During those few seconds, chains and lockets would disappear.”Rajneesh Verma, assistant commissioner of police, Krishan Nagar, who led the investigation said the accused often abandoned the Bolero at a distance from the crime spot and escaped separately after the theft, making it difficult for victims to identify them.“The vehicle, usually without a registration plate, was allegedly used to travel across districts and quickly change hideouts after every incident,” the ACP added.Police further added that the gang came under the scanner after three women separately reported jewellery thefts near Avadh crossing and Krishna Nagar area over the past week.“Investigators analysing CCTV footage noticed recurring appearances of the same group around auto stands shortly before each theft,” ACP said.“During interrogation, the accused admitted to stealing gold chains and a mangalsutra locket from women commuters near Krishna Nagar Metro station and Avadh Crossing over the past month,” the ADCP added.Police records show Bindu was previously booked in robbery and theft cases in Kanpur and Kushinagar.