Chaddi Baniyan gang
{{Short description|Criminal groups in India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2018}}
The Chaddi Baniyan Gangs (also known as the Kachcha Baniyan Gangs) are criminal groups operating in parts of India.{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Chaddi-Baniyan-gang-returns-to-haunt-city/articleshow/4821073.cms | title=Chaddi-Baniyan gang returns to haunt city | newspaper=Times of India | date = 26 July 2009 | access-date = 7 May 2014}} Gang members perform attacks while wearing only their underwear, which is the source of their name (in the local languages, chaddi, or kachcha are underpants and baniyan is undershirts). In addition to wearing undergarments, members wear face masks and cover themselves in oil or mud to protect their identities.{{Cite web |url=http://dainikkausar.com/news_detail.php?id=125&type=2 |title=राजधानी में चड्डी बनियान धारी गिरोह फिर हुआ सक्रिय, Dainik Kausar, 6 May 2014 |access-date=7 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508061214/http://dainikkausar.com/news_detail.php?id=125&type=2 |archive-date=8 May 2014 |url-status=dead }}
Attacks
The gangs tend to move in groups of 5-10 people,{{Cite web |url=http://khabar.ibnlive.in.com/news/52306/3 |title=कच्छा-बनियान गिरोह की दिल्ली में दस्तक, दो जगह लूट आईबीएन-7 {{!}} 30 April 2011 |access-date=7 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215042843/http://khabar.ibnlive.in.com//news/52306/3/ |archive-date=15 December 2014 |url-status=dead }}[https://archive.today/20140510000630/http://archive.mid-day.com/news/2010/aug/230810-chaddi-baniyan-gang-robbers-temples.htm Chaddi-baniyan gang now targets temples, 2010-08-23, Mid-Day] and wear a kurta and lungi. During the day, they gather at transport hubs or disused urban spaces. They conceal themselves as beggars or common labourers to identify potential houses to rob. Before moving on to a different town, the gangs attempt to steal from multiple homes.
The gang members often rent cars to get around, and are suspected of robbing temples.{{Cite web |date=August 10, 2001 |title=India: Kacha Banian (Kucha Banyan) or Underwear-Undershirt Wearing Group or Shorts-Underwear Clad Group; its members; their activities; their targets; whether they are active throughout the country or just in Uttar Pradesh; whether the group targets Sikhs in particular; and their interests regarding Sikhs |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be4118.html |access-date=September 18, 2022 |website=refworld.org |publisher=Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada}}
Identity
In several cases, members of the gang have been identified as people of the Phase Pardhi tribe.[http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mumbai/panvel-villagers-kill-a-robber-of-chaddi-banyan-gang/article1-703903.aspx Panvel villagers kill a robber of chaddi banyan gang, G Mohiuddin Jeddy, Hindustan Times, Navi Mumbai, 31 May 2011] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120629075710/http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mumbai/panvel-villagers-kill-a-robber-of-chaddi-banyan-gang/article1-703903.aspx |date=29 June 2012 }}Dreaded Phase Pardhis are back, Afternoon Dispatch & Courier, 27 September 2013, Zuber Ansari In some instances, the culprits have included members of the Pardhi community as well as some others.{{Cite web |url=http://freepressjournal.in/four-chaddi-banian-burglars-caught-confess-to-36-house-breaks/ |title=Four ' chaddi- banian' burglars caught; confess to 36 house- breaks |website=Free Press Journal |date=6 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512220228/http://freepressjournal.in/four-chaddi-banian-burglars-caught-confess-to-36-house-breaks/ |archive-date=12 May 2014 }}
Incidents
The Gang's activity has been reported since 1987.Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, India: Kacha Banian (Kucha Banyan) or Underwear-Undershirt Wearing Group or Shorts-Underwear Clad Group; its members; their activities; their targets, 10 August 2001, IND37634.E, available at https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be4118.html [accessed 8 May 2014][https://article.wn.com/view/WNATed8f976ca7877e9dabf1d79934248f62/ दो साल बाद फिर सक्रिय हुआ कच्छा बनियान गिरोह] They have been active in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090228165432/http://www.hindu.com/2008/07/24/stories/2008072452911300.htm Inter-State burglar gang captured, Hindu, 24 July 2008]
Arrests
Four members of a Chaddi Baniyan Gang were arrested in Mumbai in an encounter with Mumbai Police on April 4, 2016.[https://www.jagran.com/news/national-six-criminal-arrested-of-kaccha-baniyan-gang-9675234.html कच्छा-बनियान गिरोह के छह बदमाश गिरफ्तार, Jagran, 18 September 2012]
In February 2016, Chaddi Baniyan gang members were arrested after a siege with police at Borivali.{{cite news | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Night-long-siege-shootout-as-suspected-chaddi-baniyan-gang-breaks-into-Borivali-house/articleshow/50896457.cms | title=Night-long siege, shootout as suspected 'chaddi-banyan' gang breaks into Borivali house | newspaper=The Times of India | date=8 February 2016 | access-date=19 April 2018 }}
In popular culture
In the second season of the Indian drama anthology series Delhi Crime (released in 2022), Chaddi Baniyan Gang members are suspected of committing a string of murders in Delhi.{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Anurakti |date=August 26, 2022 |title=Who are the Chaddi Baniyan gang that have been law & order's nightmare since '90s? |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/mirror-now/in-focus/who-are-the-chaddi-baniyan-gang-that-have-been-law-orders-nightmare-since-90s-article-93802816 |access-date=2022-09-18 |website=TimesNow |language=en}}