Varanasi, July 30 -- A police team posed as pilgrims and tourists busted an interstate gang of thieves and arrested 16 of its members from a paying guest house in the Lahartara area of Varanasi, police said on Monday.

The gang members, who had been living in the guest house, were allegedly involved in stealing jewellery, purses, luggage and mobile phones from tourists and pilgrims in Varanasi, said T Saravanan, deputy commissioner of police (crime).

Among the arrested were 13 women and 3 men. The men were identified as Logeswaran, a resident of Kutur, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu; Satyasheelan, a resident of Gandhi Nagar, Tiruchirappalli; and Raju Naidu, a resident of Balikata Bandil, Hubli, West Bengal. The 13 women were identified as R...