The Anantapur police on Saturday nabbed a gang of bank robbers from Haryana, operating across multiple States, for their alleged involvement in a series of ATM thefts. The crime police and Anantapur urban police arrested five members of the Haryana gang, and seized a lorry, gas cylinders and cutters, cellphones and a cash of ₹2 lakh, apart from iron rods, a dagger, chilli powder, sanitiser and paint sprays. The gang was responsible for multiple ATM thefts in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the police said.
Addressing a press conference here, Superintendent of Police P. Jagadeesh narrated the crimes committed by the gang.
In the early hours of August 4, as many as 12 members of the gang, including the five arrested and seven absconding, arrived at the SBI ATM near Ramnagar flyover bridge in Anantapur town in two cars. They strategically placed the cars near the ATM before carrying out the theft. While eight members engaged in surveillance to avoid detection, four, including an expert in gas cutting named Saddam, disabled the ATM CCTV cameras and used a gas cutter to access the cash, stealing ₹29.8 lakh.
The gang meticulously planned their operations, often targeting SBI ATM centres due to the perceived lack of security measures and high cash levels. Once the thefts were carried out, they would return to Haryana, Mr. Jagadeesh said.
The police teams nabbed the gang members when they were moving suspiciously on the outskirts of Anantapur.
The SP said that five of the arrested members of the gang are identified as Robin, Salim, Hukmakhan, Majeed, and Shakir (aged between 21 and 40 years), from the Suha of Haryana. Special teams were formed to track down seven other accused.
Published - August 24, 2024 07:27 pm IST
