Interstate gang of ATM robbers busted in Gurugram, 4 held

GURUGRAM: Four members of an interstate gang involved in robbing ATMs were arrested from Pataudi road after a brief gun-battle on Thursday night. The truck used to commit the crimes and two country-made pistols were recovered from their possession.
According to the police, inspector Sunil Kumar of the special task force (STF) received a tip-off around 9pm on Thursday that a gang of ATM robbers were heading towards Gurugram from Pataudi in a truck which had a fake number plate. Barricades were put up between Garhi Harsaru and Gaddoli village to nab the accused. On nearing the barricade and spotting the police there, one of the accused opened fire at them to get a clear passage.

The cops retaliated and nabbed the four accused — Sarfaraz, Ismuddin, Azad and Irfaan. “The modus operandi used by the accused was to uproot an ATM and transport it to a secluded spot using the truck in which they travelled. After reaching a secluded spot, they used gas cutters to cut open the machine and take out the cash. This gang was active in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Rajasthan and other nearby states. During initial interrogation, they have confessed to have committed 12 robberies,” said B Satheesh Balan, DIG (STF).

“Sarfarz, the gang’s mastermind, was wanted in four cases, including murder, robbery, dacoity and cow slaughtering. They were produced in a city court on Friday and taken on three-days’ police remand,” said inspector Sunil Kumar, who headed the STF team on Thursday night.

STF arrested 200 criminals this year

The STF that managed to arrest more than 200 criminals, including 20 gangsters — who were in the police’s most wanted list — this year. The first big catch for the force, after its formation in January, was the arrest of four sharp shooters of the Manjit Mahal gang from Bahadurgarh. “In 2019, our team will target gangsters Kaushal, Raju Disori, Vinod, Ashok Nilothi and Menpal Badli among others,” said B Satheesh Balan, DIG (STF).