LUCKNOW, June 21 -- The Lucknow police on Thursday busted a notorious gang involved in a series of burglaries across Lucknow, arresting eight members, including a woman. The gang's kingpin, Himanshu Tharu alias 'Sanju Baba', was injured in a police encounter near Kukrail Bandha, the police said. In a press note, the police identified the arrested accused as Akash Yadav, 24, Rinku Kanaujia, 19, Rohan Kashyap alias Shankar, 20, Vikas Jaiswal, 24, Rohit Tharu alias Changa, 20, Vikas Yadav, 26 and Manasi Sharma, 23. The arrest was made with a joint effort of Ghazipur police, Eastern Zone crime team, said DCP East Shashank Singh at a press conference on Friday. "Most of them have a criminal past with multiple FIRs related to theft and burglary lodged in police stations across the city including PGI, Indira Nagar, Chinhat, and Ghazipur," said DCP Singh. According to police, the woman in the team would conduct a reconnaissance of locked houses under the guise of doing odd jobs. Once a suitable target was identified, the rest of the gang would execute the burglary and later split the loot. "The gang had been targeting locked houses, primarily in the Indira Nagar area. Over six theft cases had been registered in recent weeks at Ghazipur police station, with losses amounting to lakhs," the DCP added. According to police, the arrested members were the same gang who held a "noodle party" at a recent house they struck in the Ghazipur area, also turning on the AC while they were at it. The house belonged to a retired banker, who was on vacation. Police said that the group of young thieves, mostly under 25, were not just specialised in stealing, but would have a party with whatever snacks were available at the victim's house after every heist. "The breakthrough came following electronic surveillance and tip-offs. Acting on a lead, police teams reached a graveyard near a Mazar where the accused were allegedly dividing stolen goods. While seven gang members were caught on the spot, Himanshu alias Sanju Baba tried to flee and fired at the police team. In retaliatory firing, he was shot and later shifted to Balrampur Hospital for treatment," said ACP Ghazipur Anindya Vikram Singh. The ACP added, "Police recovered a country-made firearm, live and empty cartridges, jewellery (47 grams yellow metal and 250 grams of silver), Rs.2.6 lakh, two crowbars, a large screwdriver, and two scooters, one of which was reported stolen in January."...