Hyderabad: The SBI ATM robbers gang who fled with Rs 93 lakhs cash earlier on Thursday from Karnataka's Bidar opened fire at a private travels manager who insisted them to deboard the transit van at Afzalgunj here, on Thursday night.
Police suspect the involvement of a Bihari gang which operates in multiple states.
"It could be the handiwork of notorious Amit Kumar, whose criminal activities including armed robberies and theft are aplenty. He operates from Bihar and he is believed to be to heading to back to Bidar with the loot money via Raipur when the shootout happened in Afzalgunj," a senior police official who did not want to be named told ETV Bharat.
Preliminary investigations suggest the gang is highly organized and leaves almost no evidence in the scene of crime(SOC).
In Bidar, where they carried out a heist, the gang had opened fire to intimidate bystanders. Later, they employed a same modus operandi in Afzalgunj, the official explained.
The gang's crime history is spread across multiple states. This makes it difficult to trace their route as they have local help in almost every state, another official privy to the probe said.
"We hope to outsmart him using advanced technology. We are also coordinating with other state police teams to ensure they are brought to books," the official added.
Amit Kumar who is suspected be the mastermind behind the robbery and the subsequent shootout here in Hyderabad is wanted in many criminal cases in Bihar. He has been implicated in several high-profile robbery and theft cases there. The police are also probing the potential local connections, if any, helping them flee from the city.
On Afzalgunj firing, sources said the injured asked them to get down from the van after he found their huge bags having wads of currency notes during his routine luggage inspection. When the vehicle was leaving the Afzalgunj office of the travel operator, the gang shoved a couple of bundles of cash into his hands to "quieten" him.
Two policemen were present inside the van and wanted to know what was going on. Before the police could intervene, the gang opened fire at the transport firm manager, Jehangir. Local police identified the cops present in the van as service personnel from Karnataka.
The gang managed to flee from the van after firing two rounds and they took their luggage with them. Jehangir who suffered bullet injuries in his stomach and legs was admitted to Osmania hospital for treatment.
The zonal police top brass carried out spot investigation and have formed special teams to
The travel firm owner's relative said a duo came to their office at around 3 pm and booked tickets to Raipur, Chhattisgarh. “They returned at 7 pm and were taken to the main bus point in a van. This is when our staff found out they were transporting cash. Our staff objected to it and they tried to bribe them. As Jehangir refused the bribe, they resorted to firing,” said Ahmed, a relative of Roshan Travels owner. He added that there were two policemen from Karnataka present in the van when the shootout happened.
Hyderabad police have set up search parties and are on the lookout for the suspects involved in the shootout. A case has been registered against the gang for using arms. Two bullet casings were recovered from the crime scene and were being sent for ballistic analysis, a senior police official privy to the investigation said.
Police are poring over the CCTV footage from Afzalgunj where the shootout unfolded. The visuals showed the suspects boarding an auto-rickshaw and the last location they could be tracked using the CCTV was Tankbund.
Sources indicate that the gang involved in the firing here and that committed armed robbery in Bidar is one and the same.
On Thursday, the robbers struck in Bidar, firing six rounds that killed a security guard and left another injured before decamping with Rs 93 lakh cash intended for loading at a State Bank of India (SBI) ATM at Shivaji Chowk, on Thursday.
