What is the truth of the ‘Irani gang members’ poster?

A poster titled ‘Gulbarga and Bidar Irani gang’ is viral on social media with several individual users alerting people about an alleged robbers’ gang. “These Irani gang members may visit to your house or society as a bedsheet sellers . They are robbers. Be careful,” warns the accompanying message. Gulbarga and Bidar are cities in Karnataka.

A similar message in Marathi also warns the same – “हे इराणी टोळीचे सदस्य बेडशीट विक्रेता म्हणून आपल्या घरी किंवा सोसायटीला भेट देऊ शकतात. ते दरोडेखोर आहेत. काळजी घ्या .”

Multiple individual users have sent requests on the Alt News mobile app to enquire about the veracity of the poster.

Issued by the police

A keyword search on Google led Alt News to a report by local news channel Daijiworld 24×7 which said that the poster of Irani gang members was an alert issued by Bajpe police in Mangalore. “The said gang is already active in the district of Chikkamagaluru town and other areas of that district. The members of the gang are said to approach the public as sellers of blankets in the day time, survey the house and loot the house later,” said the report.

Alt News also found other reports from across districts in Karnataka – Bangalore and Udupi – where local police have issued similar alerts.

A local report by India Times, however, quoted the Udupi SP as stating that no incidents by such gangs have been reported in the area and the warning is a precautionary measure. She further said that people are advised to alert the police in case of suspicions.

Alt News confirmed with a senior official in the Karnataka police that the poster alerting citizens of Irani gang robbers is a step taken by the several local police stations in the state.