Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday claimed to have solved an ATM theft case in south Kashmir's Pulwama district by arresting three Bangladeshi nationals and recovering the stolen property from their possession. The three suspects arrested in this case have been identified as Suman Mal son of Jainal resident of Rajpur police station Rayanda Bangladesh, Farooq Ahmed Ali son of Ahmad Ali resident of Razavir police station Rayanda Bangladesh and Muhammad Ibrahim son of Muhammad Muslim resident Bangla Bazar police station Sharon Khola Bangladesh.
A police spokesman said that the case relates to the theft of an ATM on April 8, 2023, when unknown thieves stole an ATM machine installed near Government Boys Degree College Pulwama. Following the incident, Pulwama Police had registered a case under FIR No. 78/2023 at Police Station Pulwama under relevant provisions of law.
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A SIT was constituted under the supervision of SSP Pulwama headed by Additional SP Pulwama to ensure speedy investigation of the case. During the investigation, the police team analyzed digital data evidence, in addition to meticulous investigation of circumstantial evidence, a continuous and focused investigation of the suspects led to the identification of a group of international thieves from Bangladesh who in the past had also committed such crimes, the police spokesman said.
During the investigation, the accused confessed their involvement in the crime, he said. On their disclosure, the stolen ATM machine was recovered from a garden thrown into a pit in Dhogam Kakapura. Police said that the said group of thieves revealed that they had stolen such ATMs at other places as well. It also came to light that this gang started operating in South Kashmir from the beginning of this year and revealed similar ATM thefts in Pampore, police said.
Further investigation of the case is ongoing and more arrests are expected in the case, the statement said.
