The Anantapur police on Saturday arrested six members of an inter-State gang allegedly involved in 13 theft cases reported from across Andhra Pradesh, and recovered valuables worth around ₹60 lakh from their possession.Anantapur Superintendent of Police P. Jagadish told the media that the police seized 393 grams of gold jewellery, 100 grams of silver ornaments and ₹1.49 lakh in cash from the gang membersThe gang allegedly used two distinct methods to target victims.One of the accused, Chittemma, a habitual offender, allegedly specialised in stealing bags from women and elderly passengers travelling in buses, autorickshaws and bus stations and other crowded places.The gang members used to pose as passengers, deliberately jostle with victims to divert their attention before taking away handbags containing cash and jewellery.The other five accused allegedly operated by posing as scrap collectors. Their modus operandi was to move around the residential areas, identify locked houses, break into them and steal valuables.The SP said that the arrests helped crack 13 cases, including 11 registered at Gooty police station and one each at Anantapur III Town and Uravakonda.The gang’s involvement in similar criminal activities in neighboring States would also be probed, he said.Additional SP M Nagabhushanam and Deputy SP (Guntakal) A. Srinivas were also present. Published - August 29, 2026 07:01 pm IST