24 January,2015 10:43 AM IST | | Saurabh Vaktania
In a major embarrassment to Mumbai Police, Rajpura police in Patiala have arrested four accused, including the mastermind, of the ATM cash van heist
Patiala Police, Mumbai Police, ATM cash van roberry, Vile Parle, Sadre Alam, heist mastermind
Amidst high drama surrounding the ATM cash van robbery that took place last Friday, the accused have finally been arrested, however, not by Mumbai police. The case was solved by the Patiala police, who have managed to arrest four of the accused, including the mastermind of the heist, Sadre Alam, in Patiala.
Nabbed: Rajpura police have caught four persons, including mastermind Sadre Alam (in green sweater), who were involved in the robbery
While the Crime Branch and Vile Parle police was playing tug- of-war over the van's driver, and the news of the investigation officer resigning, Patiala police had picked up the four accused on Wednesday night, along with the cash. They informed Mumbai Crime Branch the following day, who sent a team yesterday evening to bring the accused to the city.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Patiala, Gurmeet Singh Chauhan, told mid-day, "We received a tip-off about the four planning a robbery in Patiala. After arresting them, during interrogation, we found out that they have committed a big heist in Mumbai. It was then that we contacted Mumbai police, and on Friday a team from Crime Branch has left for Patiala to take them."
According to Rajpura police in Patiala, the four accused have been identified as Sadre Alam, the security guard of the cash van who was the mastermind, Mukhtar Ahmed, Manjur Ahmed and Khurshid Mohammad. Police Inspector Shamindra Singh of Rajpura police station carried out the operation and arrested the accused. Singh said that the four were arrested from Ambala Road at Rajpura, while one of the accused, identified only as Ahmed, managed to escape. He informed that the accused had travelled to several cities before coming there.
Mumbai Crime Branch has taken transit remand from Patiala court and is expected to bring the four accused back to the city by today evening. A case has been registered under Sections 399 (making preparation to commit dacoity), 402 (assembling for purpose of committing dacoity) and 412 (Dishonestly receiving property stolen in the commission of a dacoity) of the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant sections of the Arms Act. Except for Ahmed, who fled, the remaining accused in the robbery case are now in police custody.
