HC Upholds FIR under Gangsters Act against Dakaiti gang in Lucknow robbery case

A Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court dismissed Mohit Yadav’s petition and upheld the FIR. The bench held that the statutory requirement of a 'joint meeting' for approving a gang chart is satisfied through collective deliberation and not dependent on signatures recorded on the same day. It noted that the process of forwarding and recommending the gang chart under Rule 16 is distinct from prior deliberation in a joint meeting, and that due procedure was scrupulously followed. The court also observed that under Lucknow’s commissionerate system the commissioner of police exercises powers akin to an executive magistrate, lending further legal validity to the approval process.

The FIR under the Gangsters Act was lodged on March 17, 2026 in connection with the ₹6.8 lakh robbery in Vikas Nagar. Thirteen accused of the Dakaiti gang were named in the FIR, with Section 111(2)(b) of the BNS—related to organised crime—invoked, alongside provisions of the Gangsters Act, after their criminal history revealed several past cases registered against them, according to Vikas Nagar station incharge Alok K Singh.

A meeting was held between the Lucknow commissioner of police and the deputy commissioner of police (East) to discuss and approve the gang chart. Minutes indicate the gang chart was discussed and approved, with formal endorsements recorded subsequently. ACP Ghazipur, Anindya Vikram Singh, confirmed the sequence of deliberation and approval, and stressed that the essence of Rule 5(3)(a) lies in collective decision-making rather than the timing of signatures.

A jeweller’s employee, Amit Saini, was targeted by bike-borne assailants returning after collecting payments. The robbers snatched ₹6.8 lakh in cash and his mobile phone, briefly abducted him on their motorcycle, and abandoned him in a deserted stretch before fleeing through narrow lanes in Lucknow’s Vikas Nagar area.

Subsequent investigation by the UP STF and Vikas Nagar police revealed insider involvement, with jeweller’s former driver Prem Bahadur Singh emerging as the key conspirator.