Kalyan police arrest 2 in ATM theft case; main accused still at large

Investigations in the Kalyan ATM theft case have now revealed that the main kingpins of the gang train the newly hired thieves on how to use gas cutters and impart technical knowledge regarding ATMs

The Kalyan police arrested two persons who were involved in the Kharghar ATM theft on June 11. The police team also recovered ₹20 lakh cash from the accused.

Two persons have been arrested by Kalyan police in the Kharghar ATM theft case. The police also recovered ₹20 lakh cash from them. (HT FILE PHOTO)

However, the main accused behind the multiple ATM thefts are still at large.

Investigations have now revealed that the main kingpins of the gang train the newly hired thieves on how to use gas cutters and impart technical knowledge regarding ATMs.

According to police officials, the main gang leader chooses youngsters who are well versed in technology for the job. The main accused then leaves with the major booty, leaving some share for the juniors. They only communicate through different weblinks with the juniors. The Kalyan police have arrested two such junior members of the gang. The arrested accused are identified as Sarafuddin Khan and Umesh Prajapati.

However, it was some other gang that robbed another ATM in Mira Road on Wednesday.

Umesh Mane Patil, Assistant Police Commissioner, said, “Our seven different teams are working on the case. We found that seven accused are involved in the Kalyan theft case. The two were arrested from Shilphata following a tip off. During the course of the investigation, we found that these two were involved in the ATM theft that occurred in Kharghar on June 11 this year. Four cars used in different thefts too were recovered from them along with cash of ₹20 lakh, which they had kept in a bank.”

The main ATM theft cash is yet to be recovered by the officials. An officer said, “The kingpins of the gang guide these people and take a majority of the booty. We are using technical intelligence to trace them.”