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Patiala police bust gang of ATM robbers with arrest of eight
The district police have busted an inter-state gang of robbers involved in ATM heists and other robberies, here on Friday.
The district police have busted an inter-state gang of robbers involved in ATM heists and other robberies, here on Friday.
With the arrest of eight accused, police claim to have solved 34 robberies, including 20 ATM loots.
SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu said the accused were well equipped and had technical knowledge of uprooting ATM machines, and dodging CCTV cameras and sensors.
“We have cracked 13 ATM robberies of Patiala district, two of Ropar, one each of Barnala, Fatehgarh Sahib and SBS Nagar districts. We have also traced two such robberies committed by the accused in Ambala and Panchkula, of Haryana,” he said.
He added that the accused were involved in 14 loot cases, including ₹3 lakh being snatched from a trader near Sunami Gate, Patiala, in 2017.
The accused are Harnek Singh, his brother Harchet Singh, Maninder Singh, Dilraj Singh, Amrit Singh, Bikramjeet Singh, Paramveer Singh and Gurtej Singh.
Police have recovered ₹8.25 lakh, nine vehicles, a .315 rifle, a .315 pistol, two swords, an electronic cutter, some gas cutters and other equipment from their possession.
“All accused are in their 20s. Harnek and Harchet are the kingpins of the gang. Harnek is an electrician and posses knowledge of sensors and ATM machine mechanism, while Harchet acquired knowledge of uprooting and lifting machines without coming into notice from YouTube videos,” the SSP said.
He added that after committing the crimes, accused divided the money equally before moving to safer places. “They were active in the state since 2017 and had expanded the gang over the years,” he said.
Patiala CIA in-charge Shaminder Singh said the accused used to target ATM machines installed at isolated places. “Two of members would first conduct recce. Earlier, the accused used electronic cutters, but then switched to gas cutters to minimise noise,” he said.
He added that the accused will be taken into police custody for further questioning as to the total amount they have looted over the years and their involvement in other robberies.
SSP Sidhu said DGP Dinkar Gupta has announced a cash prize of ₹2 lakh, besides promotions to the three-member team and DGP commendation disc to five cops.
A case has been registered under Sections 402 (assembling for purpose of committing dacoity), 399 (making preparation to commit dacoity), 397 (robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) and 392 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code.
