HC upholds Gangsters Act action in Vikas Nagar robbery

Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a petition filed by alleged gang leader Mohit Yadav, upholding police action in which 13 members of a dacoity gang were booked under the Gangsters Act following a Rs 6.8 lakh robbery in Vikas Nagar.A division bench of Justice Abdul Moin and Justice Pramod Kumar Srivastava rejected Yadav’s plea challenging the FIR dated March 17, 2026, registered at Vikas Nagar police station.

The petitioner argued that the gang chart was invalid due to the absence of a mandatory joint meeting of competent authorities. However, the state produced records of a joint meeting held on Feb 23 between senior police officials, following which the gang chart was approved on Feb 24. The court held that due procedure was followed and found no illegality, dismissing the petition as devoid of merit.

The ruling was also referred by the division bench for AFR (Approved for Reporting). AFR refers to significant judgments approved by judges for publication in law journals, indicating they establish a precedent or clarify legal principles.

The case stems from a daring daylight robbery on March 28, 2025, when bike-borne assailants looted Rs 6.8 lakh from jeweller’s employee Amit Saini and briefly abducted him before abandoning him in a deserted stretch.

SHO, Vikas Nagar, Alok Singh, who led the probe, said that the investigation revealed insider involvement, with the jeweller’s former driver, Prem Bahadur Singh, allegedly sharing cash movement details with accomplices.

Police named 13 accused in the FIR, including Mohit Yadav, Sushil Mishra, Vaibhav Singh, Prem Bahadur Singh, Sonendra Singh, Gaurav Mishra, Vipin Yadav, Samrat Dixit, Satish Singh, Anuj Maurya, Shivam Dixit, Ajay Singh and Vijay Singh. Investigators invoked the Gangsters Act, citing the gang’s criminal history.

Police said the case marked a first in the state, with advanced digital forensics playing a key role. Over 2.8 lakh pages of WhatsApp chats recovered by the Forensic Science Laboratory revealed a group named “GG – Good Gang”, used for planning the heist, assigning roles and coordinating escape routes.

“The gang leader challenged technical aspects of the case, but the court upheld that all procedural requirements were complied with,” said SHO Vikas Nagar Alok Kumar Singh, who led the probe in the case.

“The gang leader had challenged technical aspects of the case, but the court upheld that all procedural requirements were complied with,” said SHO Vikas Nagar Alok Kumar Singh, who led the probe in the case.
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