Inter-State gang nabbed for looting ATM kiosk

Hyderabad: A four-member inter-State burglary gang was arrested by LB Nagar police on charges of looting a cash vending kiosk at Mansoorabad here on Thursday. The police seized cash of Rs 8 lakh, an auto-rickshaw and other material, all put together worth Rs 12 lakh from the culprits.

The arrested gang members were identified as Saber Khan, an auto driver, Arshad Khan, a labourer, Ajrudeen, a painter and Talim, a construction worker, while another member Sajeed is absconding. All the suspects are natives of Haryana State. Saber, who migrated to Hyderabad around 17 years ago in search of work, started plying auto-rickshaw in and around Hafeez Baba Nagar. He was earlier involved in a cheating case booked at Kachiguda police station on charge of withdrawing money from the account of a senior citizen and is currently facing trial.

According to the police, Saber hatched a plot to loot ATM centres with the help of his friends



from Haryana who were accommodated in his residence.

On Tuesday, they purchased a gas cutter from a store and around midnight, the gang sneaked into an unmanned State Bank of India ATM kiosk at Mansoorabad. “They cut open the cash vending machine with the gas cutter and stole the cash of Rs 12 lakh from the cash chest of the automated teller machine. They fled the spot with the cash leaving the cutter at the ATM centre only,” said Mahesh M Bhagwat, CP, Rachakonda.

While the burglars were cutting the automated teller machine to open, the cash the machine was partially burnt and cash of around Rs 7000 was also burnt.

LB Nagar police booked a case based on a complaint by channel manager of Electronic Payment and Services, a Mumbai-based outsourcing company which maintains ATMs at Dilsukhnagar, LB Nagar, Vanasthalipuram and Meerpet areas.