The Rachakonda police have successfully apprehended a five-member inter-state gang responsible for stealing Rs 29.69 lakh from an SBI ATM located in Ravirala village on Hyderabad’s outskirts. The arrested individuals include Rahul (25), Musthakeem Khan (28), Waheed Khan (18), Shakeel Khan (24), and Mohammed Sarfaraz (28), all natives of Rajasthan, according to Rachakonda Police Commissioner G Sudheer Babu.
The investigation revealed that the gang flew from Delhi to Hyderabad specifically to commit the crime. Commissioner Sudheer Babu disclosed that the gang managed to burglarize the ATM in just about three minutes and escaped within six minutes. This gang had previously targeted ATMs of HDFC and SBI in areas such as Kushaiguda, BDL Banur, and Odisha.
Rahul, a Hyderabad native, is identified as the mastermind behind the operation. The gang, originating from Mewat district in Haryana, employed gas cutters to break into the ATM, sprayed paint on CCTV cameras to evade detection, and wore masks during the crime.
The Adibatla police investigated the case over 22 days, uncovering the gang’s extensive history of thefts along the Delhi-Rajasthan-UP borders and in multiple states. They would frequently commit robberies and then flee to their hometowns. The gang was also linked to previous robberies on the Outer Ring Road.
