The Gannavaram police arrested two persons of a six-member robber gang wanted for attempting to rob a State Bank of India (SBI) ATM at Gannavaram in Krishna district recently.
The police, who were on a painstaking search for the suspects on the basis of CCTV footage, spotted two of the culprits near the Gannavaram railway station early on Friday morning and caught hold of them. The other four members of the gang are still at large.
“This is the first time that we have come across a gang from Bangladesh. Investigation is on as to how the accused managed to enter the country,” said Krishna District Superintendent of Police P. Joshua.
“The gang entered India at Jayantipur village in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal. They robbed ATMs of different banks in Odisha, Bengaluru, Goa and Andhra Pradesh in the last five months,” the SP said at a press conference here on Friday.
Constable M. Manindhra and home guard J. Nagaraju, who were on night patrol, spotted the gang trying to break open the SBI ATM near Shanti Theatre on NH-16 in the early hours of August 22. The duo then accosted the robbers, who attacked the former and escaped from the spot.
After an extensive manhunt across bus stands and railway stations, police managed to arrest two of the culprits, who were identified as Shaik Nadeem Khan and Mohammad Jahangir of Bagerhat district, Khulna Division in Bangladesh.
The Krishna police have apprised the Bangladeshi High Commission of the matter and have alerted Central Police forces deployed on the India-Bangladesh border at Haridaspur-Jayantipur post, Mr. Joshua said.
Gannavaram Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) K. Vijay Paul said that police are trying to arrest the kingpin of the gang, Randa Simon, and the other members Sarang Singh Suman, Amaragasiya Badsha and Randa Kohon Mullah.
The gang have till now robbed ₹9 lakh from an SBI ATM in Bhubaneswar, ₹12 lakh from an ATM in Bengaluru, and ₹15 lakh from two ATMs in Goa. The accused would split up the booty among themselves, purchase gold, and sneak back into Bangladesh, Mr. Paul said.
In Vijayawada, the gang procured cutters, hacksaws, hammers and other tools on August 19 from One Town area, and concealed them in a locker at Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS). They took shelter at Vijayawada railway station for five days and conducted a recce of ATMs in the area, said Gannavaram Circle Inspector K. Shivaji, who investigated the case.
The SP said that the police have charged the accused under Section 341 (wrongful restraint) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty) of the IPC and other charges. Police have recovered ₹1.03 lakh in cash and a cargo auto-rickshaw from the culprits, Mr. Joshua said.
