Man held in connection with ATM theft in Delhi's Badarpur

A 48-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the theft of an ATM containing Rs 22 lakh cash in southeast Delhi's Badarpur area last month, police said on Sunday.

The theft was reported to police on February 13 and the accused, Tahir Hussain, a resident of Raipuri in Mewat district of Haryana, was arrested on Friday, a police official said.

"On Friday, we received information that Hussain was to go to Faridabad to settle a car loan with a finance company. Accordingly, a raid was conducted and the accused apprehended from Delhi-Faridabad border," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) R P Meena said.

Hussain -- a transporter -- has four trucks and a car. The monthly EMI of the vehicles was approximately Rs 3 lakh, which he was unable to pay, the police officer said.

During interrogation, it was revealed that Hussain had recently joined his cousin Shahid's gang. Shahid used Hussain's car to commit crime and gave him a share of the looted money to pay the EMI, Meena said.

Hussain told police that on the day the ATM was stolen, Shahid and some of his accomplices also stole a pick-up van from Ghazipur for commissioning the crime, the DCP said.

Shahid was involved in more than a dozen cases, including that of robbery, dacoity and ATM theft.

Following the arrest of Hussain, efforts were being made to trace Shahid and other gang members. A raid was conducted at Shahid's house in Raipuri village on Saturday and some parts of the stolen ATM were seized, police said.