Muthoot dacoity case: Inter-state gang held within 18 hours

Ten special teams of police nabbed the culprits within 18 hours of the incident, thus also drawing appreciation from Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.

In a tweet, Palaniswami said, “One more jewel in the crown of the TN police...my hearty congratulations, especially to the Krishnagiri district police, for arresting the culprits within 18 hours of the incident.” The masked gang had looted 25,091 gms of gold jewellery and Rs 96,000 cash by threatening the staff of a private financial firm at gunpoint in Krishnagiri district on Friday morning.

They entered the gold loan firm on Hosur-Bagalur Road shortly after it opened around 9.30 am and attacked the firm’s manager Srinivasaragav, 28, the security guard, a customer and two others, plastered their mouth and tied their hands and feet. The gang then escaped with the booty in two-wheelers.

Following the incident, 10 special teams of police launched a search operation. It was suspected that the members were from the northern belt of the country as they spoke in Hindi and were tracked with the help of a mini GPS device fixed in one of the stolen pouch that had the jewellery. Police said the culprits, who had also stolen a mobile phone from the firm, had tried to divert the cops by leaving it in another spot.

However, the police tracked the robbers with the help of Cyberabad police on the outskirts of Hyderabad city. The police have recovered the stolen jewellery worth over Rs 10 crore, seven guns and 89 live rounds.

The gang was about to escape to Jharkhand and Bihar through Hyderabad, but were caught in the nick of time. The accused were identified as Rup Singh Baghal (22), a college student, Shankar Singh Bayyal Baghal (36) and Pavan Kumar Biskarma, 22, from Madhya Pradesh, Bupendhar Manji (24), and Vivek Mandal (32) from Jharkhand, who were travelling in an SUV when they were intercepted at Tondupalli village in Ranga Reddy district, while two others Tekram (55) and Rajeev Kumar (35), hailing from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, were nabbed while they were travelling in a container lorry near Medchal. Police said that they all were habitual offenders involved in similar heists in other states.The police have seized a lorry, an SUV and cell phones from the culprits. Probe is on.