Inter-state gang of robbers targeting banks busted in Chhattisgarh

CCTV footage sent to nationwide police on WhatsApp; Chhattisgarh achieve breakthrough on tip-off from Vizag

An inter-state gang targeting banks and financial institutions across the country was busted by the Chhattisgarh police today, with the arrest of 16 members hailing from Tamil Nadu.

The members came under the scanner of the Chhattisgarh police after they lifted Rs 10 lakh from Bank of Baroda in Dhamtari district on March 14. Without any armed struggle, the 8-9 members of the gang entered the branch soon after it opened; picked up Rs 10 lakh cash from the cashier’s cabin and left the scene of crime. The cashier had left the cabin to meet the manager.

Based on the footage recorded in the closed-circuit camera, the police launched a massive hunt. The footage was sent to national police WhatApp groups, following which the investigation team got the first breakthrough when it received tips from Visakhapatnam. Based on the information, the police reached Tiruchirapalli and collected vital clues as all the members were from the same area. The police team could successfully spot the members at Howrah station while they were boarding the Howrah-Mumbai mail.

The 16 members were divided in three different coaches of the train. As the train reached Bilaspur today morning, the police parties nabbed them. The preliminary interrogation revealed that over 200 offences of lifting cash and robbery had been registered against them in different states that include Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

“The banks and financial institutions were the target of the gang,” Inspector General of Police (Raipur range) G P Singh said. The members had disclosed that they had lifted cash from Punjab National Bank in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district last year, Singh said, adding that the members had been neatly lifting huge cash from the banks without any struggle as they never carried weapons. Further investigation would reveal the modus operandi of the gang in targeting banks and financial institutions, he added.