Six-member gang arrested in Tiruppur ATM robbery case

TIRUPPUR: Police cracked the Uthukuli ATM tow away robbery case with the arrest of six persons, all natives of Haryana, on Tuesday.

The gang — Rahul (24), Shahid (25), Sajit (27), Rafiq (24), Ishath (38) and Kasim Khan (45) — was traced using CCTV footage at Vijayamangalam toll gate, which showed a container truck passing around the time of the incident, a police officer said. The gang transferred the ATM unit into the truck from the car, which they used to haul the machine out of the centre.

Police found the gang hiding in a godown belonging to a logistics firm at Karunkalpalayam in Erode. Earlier, the ATM was found abandoned at a construction site near Perundurai.

Giving details of the robbery, an officer said the gang bought equipment, including masks, nylon belts, sprays, oxygen cylinder and a gas cutter in Bengaluru.  They also bought two guns from their friends in Haryana.  They loaded the equipment into the container and travelled to Erode, where Kasim Khan, who works as a driver at the logistics firm, picked up his consignment containing garments as usual on February 27. In order to avoid getting caught, the gang stole a car belonging to a TANGEDCO contractor parked on the Perundurai-Chennimalai Road.

Later, while driving on Koolipalayam Nal Road towards Tiruppur, the gang spotted the unmanned ATM of a public sector bank. After spray-blinding the CCTV cameras, the gang used ropes and belts to tow the machine away. After prying open the machine at the construction site using a gas cutter, the gang stole `1 lakh from the ATM.

Following the arrest, two guns, bullets, gas cylinders, and Rs 67,000 in cash, were seized from the accused. The culprits were remanded to judicial custody on Tuesday evening.