One shot dead as Tamil Nadu police nab gang involved in ATM robberies in Kerala

According to the police, an armed gang broke into three ATM kiosks of a nationalised bank using a gas cutter in Thrissur, Kerala, in the early hours of Friday

A 40-year-old driver of a five-member armed gang, which allegedly broke into three ATM kiosks of a nationalised bank in Kerala, was gunned down by the Tamil Nadu police in Namakkal district on Friday. The gang members, all hailing from Haryana, were arrested after a chase.

According to the police, the gang broke into the ATM kiosks in quick succession in Thrissur in the early hours of Friday. The gang, infamous for using gas cutters to break into ATMs, allegedly escaped with the looted money in a car. They then headed towards Tamil Nadu in a truck after concealing in it the car used for the crime.

‘Gas cutter gang’

Kerala Police then alerted its Tamil Nadu counterpart about the truck. “From the very first look at the crime scene, we had a hunch that the ‘gas cutter gang’, infamous for similar operations and active in areas such as Mewar and Haryana, was behind this. They had carried out a similar operation in Kannur in 2021. They used to follow a modus operandi of using trucks [to flee], which they had followed in Kannur as well. We issued alerts to police chiefs of border districts, especially Krishnagiri, Erode, and Namakkal [in Tamil Nadu], to look out for suspicious-looking cars and container trucks,” R. Ilango, District Police Chief (Kochi City), told The Hindu .

The Namakkal police conducting vehicle checks at Komarapalayam tried to stop one such truck, when the vehicle began speeding. They gave chase, stopping vehicular movement on the Sankagiri-Erode Road after the truck headed that way. They managed to stop the vehicle at Pachampalayam. During the chase, the truck hit two bikes and a car.

The gang allegedly attacked the police personnel by throwing stones at them while trying to manoeuvre the vehicle. In the attack, Inspector Thavamani and a Sub-Inspector sustained injuries. The police, in retaliation, opened fire, in which the gang member who drove the truck was killed. Another gang member sustained injuries. The deceased driver was identified as Juman.

The police found the car concealed in the truck and arrested the five gang members; they were taken to Veppadai police station. The five accused belong to Haryana and were identified as S. Irfan, L. Sabir Khan, S. Shoukeen, and B. Mubarik Add, all residents of Palwal district, and A. Mohammed Iqram, a resident of Nuh district.

Forensic experts, meanwhile, collected fingerprints and other evidence from the truck. Police said bundles of cash were recovered from the car and the total amount can be discerned only after counting.

Published - September 27, 2024 03:49 pm IST