Gang behind ATM loot in seven states busted in Haryana: Cops

GURUGRAM: Four members of a Mewati gang, arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Haryana Police on December 27, have allegedly confessed to their involvement in more than 160 incidents where they have uprooted automated teller machines (ATMS) in seven states across the country. The police said the gangsters have allegedly robbed more than ₹13 crore in the last four years and revealed their modus operandi of their crimes.

STF officials said they have received more than 20 calls since their arrests from the police of other states, requesting them to get their fingerprints matched and corroborate other circumstantial evidence. The gang members were arrested from a check post near Garhi Harsaru village on Pataudi Road when they were on their way to Pataudi in a multiaxle truck. The police are suspecting their involvement in more than 250 cases.

Satheesh Balan, deputy inspector general (DIG), STF, said they have written to the officials concerned in other states and have compiled a data of the incidents reported there and parts of Haryana. “There are 40 members in this gang out of which 20 have been identified. They had formed this gang in 2015 and started operating from Haryana. They robbed an ATM for the first time from Bhiwani on June 27, 2015,” said Balan.

There are 12 such gangs operating out of Mewat that are involved in blowing up ATMS and uprooting them. The gang members split after an altercation over dividing the robbed amount and formed different gangs and divided their areas.

During their four-year-long crime spree, 160 ATMS were targeted, with some ATMS blown up using powerful explosives and others being dragged away by stolen cars and cut with the help of gas cutters to access the cash.

Balan said the gang members were fond of watching Hollywood movies and they planned their strategies from movies such as Fast and Furious.

During the interrogation, they revealed that they used to have a discussion before deciding on the city. Once the plan got finalised, four members visited that city and conducted reconnaissance of the area where the act would be carried out. They used to spend around a week there and finalised the location, where the maximum money was loaded in the machine. Later, other gang members used to reach the city in two different vehicles, which they used to steal or rob for the operation, said the police.

The police said the gang members met in Bhondsi jail and formed the gang. One of the four accused, Irfan Khan, the mastermind, introduced his friends to Sarfaraz alias Sanna, a proclaimed offender, and a historysheeter wanted for several cases in Haryana, and Rajasthan, Balan said. They then connected and allegedly became friends.