Police close in on inter-state burglar gang

HYDERABAD: A special team of Cyberabad police zeroed in on an inter-state burglar, who is part of a gang that has been stealing cash and valuables from banks in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Cops had reached his hideout on the outskirts of Chennai a week ago, but missed him by a whisker. They, however, managed to seize a significant quantity of the stolen booty from the shelter.After the raid, five special teams from four southern states have launched a manhunt to nab the gang members .
Currently, police units of Chittoor (Andhra Pradesh), Mahbubnagar, Cyberabad (both Telangana), Hassan (Karnataka) and Hosur (Tamil Nadu) are scouring for the inter-state gang, which had committed over 10 major burglaries, including six bank burglaries in the past one year in the four states. After a detailed probe, investigators found out that one Murugan of Tanjavur district in Tamil Nadu is the gang leader and the gang comprises five to seven men with one Dinakaran as the second-in-command.
The gang had stolen 13 kg gold and Rs 13 lakh in cash from Grameena Vikasa Bank in Balanagar town of Mahbubnagar on August 12, 2014. Again, on November 17, the gang broke into Sapthagiri Grameena Bank in Varadaiahpalem town of Chittoor district and stole 1.5 kg gold and 13 kg silver. Once again, they struck at the Deccan Grameena Bank in Ghatkesar on December 9 and escaped with property worth Rs 38 lakh, including cash and gold.
In all the three incidents, the gang targeted rural cooperative banks, which had no security guards, and during weekends. The gang used gas cutters to slice open bank safes. After the incidents, the burglars took away CCTV camera recorders with them, making it difficult for police to get any leads.
The first vital clue came when the gang tried to break into the Hyderabad District Cooperative Central Bank in Ibrahimpatnam on January 10. Due to timely arrival of a police patrol team, the gang fled the spot leaving an Innova vehicle with over a dozen fake vehicle number plates and gas cutters.
Police found that the Innova was stolen from Chennai and some of the vehicle numbers belonged to people in Shamshabad. Meanwhile, Chittoor police found out that the gang, which had resorted to similar crimes in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, was behind a series of bank burglaries and the gang was found moving in the surrounding areas of Hyderabad.
Cyberabad cops procured photographs of the suspects and the special team also came to know that the gang had purchased three villas at Shamshabad and surrounding areas with the stolen booty. After the Ibrahimpatnam incident, the gang hurriedly sold off their properties at throwaway prices and fled the city.
The special team of Cyberabad police tracked Dinakaran’s movement to a hideout on the outskirts of Chennai. However, he noticed police movement near his area as the latter was trying to find out his exact location through locals, and sneaked out with his wife on a bike. Surprisingly, some people who knew Murugan very well told police that he was committing burglaries to introduce his nephew Suresh in Tollywood or Kollywood.