Thrissur police get custody of accused in ATM robbery case

The Thrissur police on Friday received custody of the five accused of a Haryana-based gang, which allegedly broke into three ATM kiosks in Thrissur in the early hours of September 27.

The accused were identified as Irfan, 32, from Dwaraka Puri; Sowkeen Khan, 23, from Mallai; Sabeer, 26, from Kudavali; Mubarak, 18, from Lacknakar; and Muhammed Ikram, 42, from Bisru. Mubarak was reportedly the cleaner of the container truck in which the accused had attempted to flee.

Another accused, identified as Jumanddin, 37, of Haryana’s Palwal district, was shot dead by the Namakkal police in Tamil Nadu while the right lower limb of another accused, Mohammad Azru alias Azar Ali, 30, had to be amputated after suffering bullet injuries.

A team led by the Thrissur East police within Thrissur city limits received custody of the accused from the Salem Central Jail based on a production warrant secured by the Thrissur police from a local court. They were brought to Thrissur General Hospital at around 2.30 p.m. for mandatory medical examination under heavy police cover.

Later, they were produced before a local court, which granted the Thrissur East police five days’ custody of the accused. “We have recorded the arrest of the accused in the case registered in connection with the robbery at the SBI ATM kiosk at Naikkanal within Thrissur East police limits. Their arrests in the other two cases will be recorded subsequently. We have started their interrogation, and evidence collection by taking them to the crime scene will begin on Saturday,” said R. Ilango, District Police Chief (Thrissur City).

Over ₹25 lakhs was stolen from the ATM kiosk at Naikkanal. Earlier, ₹33 lakhs was stolen from the ATM kiosk at Mapranam in Irinjalakuda within Thrissur Rural police limits. Another ₹9 lakh was stolen from the ATM kiosk at Kolazhy within the Viyyur police limits. The successive robberies took place between 2.10 a.m. and 4.20 a.m.

The accused pulled off the robberies by spray painting the ATM and cabin cameras. The police happened to receive a CCTV footage of a white car, details of which they passed on to their counterparts in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Within hours later, the Namakkal police tracked down a container truck hiding the car and the looted money.

Published - October 04, 2024 08:25 pm IST