Gauripur Police in Assam’s Dhubri district have dismantled an alleged theft syndicate with the arrest of nine individuals suspected of involvement in a series of burglaries targeting residential houses and places of worship across the region.
Acting on specific intelligence inputs, a police team carried out a late-night raid at a commercial establishment in the Tiamari area of Gauripur, leading to the apprehension of the accused and the recovery of a large quantity of stolen items believed to have been pilfered from multiple locations over recent months.
The operation was led by Officer-in-Charge of Gauripur Police Station, Bibhuti Thapa, with assistance from Town Sub-Inspector Netra Kamal Bora and other personnel.
During the raid, police recovered a substantial cache of suspected stolen property, including ritual items reportedly taken from local temples, domestic LPG cylinders, microphones and sound systems, batteries, electrical wiring bundles, and iron materials.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Hassanur Islam alias Milan (22) of Malatikhamar, Khairus Zaman (37) of Tiamari Part-II, Mintu Das (19) of Fulkumari, Mofizur Rahman (39) of Madhushoulmari Part-II, Sariful Hussain (18) of Chowrangimor, Shahinul Sheikh (24) of Tiamari, Pinku Alam (27) of Gauripur Barabari, Rafiqul Hussain (23) of Chowrangimor and Manoj Ray (20) of the Supermarket area, all residents of Gauripur.
Police sources said the recovered items suggest the group’s involvement in multiple theft cases affecting both households and religious institutions. The seizure of temple-related articles has particularly raised concerns among locals, who had recently reported a rise in burglaries targeting community places of worship.
A case has been registered and further investigation is underway. Police are interrogating the accused to ascertain possible links to wider inter-district theft and fencing networks. Efforts are also on to identify the owners of the recovered property and trace additional stolen goods, with officials indicating that more arrests and recoveries may follow.
