A 30-year-old man, suspected to have masterminded the sequence of ATM robberies in Tiruvannamalai on February 12, was arrested at gunpoint at his hideout in a dilapidated constructing alongside the Rajasthan-Haryana border on Thursday. A sum of ₹15 lakh in money was recovered from him.
The police mentioned J. Asif Javed, a local of Nuh taluk in Mewat district of Haryana, was the ninth suspect arrested within the case by a particular crew of the Tamil Nadu police. His position was planning and execution of the whole heist with a six-member gang at a hideout at KGF in Karnataka. Together with different gang members, he was mentioned to have performed rehearsals earlier than robbing the ATMs within the temple city. “He was the mastermind of the theft as he deliberate each element. In actual fact, he was the one who knew the precise location of the robbed money. Additional investigation is on,” Ok. Karthikeyan, SP (Tiruvannamalai), informed The Hindu.
Presently, ₹20 lakh in money, three vehicles and a container lorry have been seized from the 9 arrested individuals. The primary breakthrough got here on February 17 when two key suspects within the core gang that was behind the theft — Mohammed Arif, 35, and his buddy and confederate, Azad, 37 — have been arrested in Nuh district of Haryana. On February 20, ‘Gujarat’ P. Basha, 43, and his affiliate, P. Afsar Hussian, 26, have been arrested from their hideout in KGF (Kolar) in Karnataka. A complete of ₹79.79 lakh was stolen from 4 ATMs in Tiruvannamalai.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that the gang stayed in a resort at KGF the place they deliberate the whole heist. From the resort, the gang visited Tiruvannamalai and different neighbouring areas earlier than they executed the heist. The gang had reduce open the ATMs with a gas-welding machine. After the theft, the suspects stayed within the hideout at KGF for a couple of days earlier than boarding a flight from Bengaluru.
