Four arrested for stealing ATM machine with ₹17.9L cash

Four people have been arrested by Thane Police’s crime branch unit 1 on Thursday for stealing an ATM machine filled with cash at Shil Daighar. The accused robbed

Four people have been arrested by Thane Police’s crime branch unit 1 on Thursday for stealing an ATM machine filled with cash at Shil Daighar. The accused robbed the machine filled with ₹17.9 lakh cash on Monday and carried it in a tempo. All four accused have been remanded in police custody for eight days.

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The incident took place between 2am and 3am in Mori village of Shil Daighar, said police officers, adding the ATM had no security guards. The group had initially tried to break open the machine, but when they failed to do so, they took the entire machine with them in the four-wheeler.

The arrested accused are Atul Davane, 22, a mason from Turbhe; Suraj Mhatre, 29, rickshaw driver from Ambernath; Suraj Kamble, 24, a security guard from Belapur; and Phulaji Gaykar, 36, a Xerox shop owner from Ambernath.

“The four accused were questioned on Tuesday. The main accused in this case is Bhim Nepali, a resident of Nepal. Based on a tip off that he has left for Uttar Pradesh in a bus, we informed the UP police who laid a trap and caught him. A team has left for Uttar Pradesh to get the accused here,” said Sandeep Bagul, assistant police inspector.

Bagul said while the ATM machine has been recovered, they are yet to seize the stolen cash, and suspect it is with Nepali. The police are on the lookout for others involved in the crime.

All four have been arrested under sections 380 (theft) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.