lucknow

Updated: Aug 28, 2018 10:12 IST

Two members of a gang involved in drawing blood out of youngsters after sedating them were caught red-handed by Basti police on Monday.

Identifying the accused as Akash (33) and Dr Prabhakar Singh (40), police said more members of the criminal group – known as the ‘Khoon Chuswa gang’ by locals – will be arrested in the days to come. Criminal cases were lodged against the two under sections 328 (causing hurt by means of poison) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code after one of their victims.

Police said they then laid a trap for the duo on the basis of a tip-off received from local residents, who saw Akash luring a child to Dr Singh’s clinic by offering him a toffee. The two were nabbed in the act of extracting blood from the victim’s sedated body.

Detailing the modus operandi of the gang, superintendent of police Pankaj Kumar said: “Akash – who hails from Nepal – was entrusted with the task of luring youngsters to the clinic, where they would be sedated against their will. The victims would all be given Rs 500 after the procedure, thereby buying their silence.”

According to sources, the gang would then sell the blood to a hospital located near a national highway in Santkabeernagar district. “Over the last few months, the gang duped many youngsters in this manner. However, as they were all paid Rs 500 after the procedure, nobody approached the police,” said Prabhat, the complainant in the case.