BHUBANESWAR: They took a leaf out of the book of the notorious Devender Singh alias Bunty Chor, whose exploits in the 1990s inspired the Bollywood movie ‘Oye Lucky Lucky Oye’, and carried out audacious ATM heists across the country, but finally ran out of luck with their arrest in Visakhapatnam.
The two inter-state criminals, Samarjaut Singh of Punjab and Jaffer Sadiq of Kerala, had broken open an ATM in the city and fled with Rs 27.84 lakh on October 10. The Commissionerate Police, which has claimed to have tipped off the Visakhapatnam police on their whereabout, has sought their remand in the Visakhapatnam court.
The duo, who had been operating out of Bengaluru, had made a career out of ATM theft across the country and lived a life of luxury. The criminals wore branded clothes, shoes and led a lavish lifestyle with the easy money they made. Police Commissioner Sudhansu Sarangi informed that the two took a flight out of the city the morning after committing the crime near Patia railway station.
They had reached Bhubaneswar from Kolkata on October 5 and carried out a recce of ATMs and targeted the Punjab National Bank kiosk at Patia railway station road after observing security lapses. They used gas cutters to steal the money. As the ATM’s CCTV and camera attached to the cash dispenser were out of order, identifying the criminals was a tough task for the police.
Sarangi visited the crime spot on October 11 and investigation was started under the supervision of Bhubaneswar DCP Umashankar Dash. During inquiry, police found blurred footage from a nearby CCTV showing two motorcycle-borne persons wearing helmets crossing the locality after the incident. “CCTV footage of nearby areas was scanned and registration number of the motorcycle used in the crime was traced. And subsequently, the hotel in which they stayed was located,” he informed the media.
Singh and Sadiq stayed at a hotel in Patia and looked for a LPG cylinder supplier on the internet. They procured the cylinder on rent from the supplier Keshav Moharana in Mancheswar and also hired a motorcycle to commit the crime. After the hotel staff became suspicious, they shifted to another lodge in the area. After committing the crime, they dumped the cylinder at a distance, went back to the lodge and checked out at about 4.15 am on October 11. Singh and Sadiq returned the hired motorcycle and reached Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) to board an IndiGo flight for Delhi at 7.40 am the same day.
After reaching Delhi, the duo boarded different flights to Chandigarh, Bengaluru and Visakhapatnam and stayed in luxury hotels during their journey. “Their movement was being tracked by us. They were nabbed in Visakhapatnam while attempting to break open an ATM on October 21,” said Sarangi. Commissionerate Police officers contacted their Andhra Pradesh counterparts where they were held. Special Squad officers visited Visakhapatnam to interrogate the accused and requested a court there to allow them to take the criminals on remand.
The two, according to police reports, are habitual offenders. While Singh was into garments business, Sadiq was working as a driver for a ridesharing company. They met at a jail and became partners in crime. Singh recently underwent hair transplant by spending Rs 3 lakh. Police officers engaged in the probe will be felicitated and names of some of them will also be recommended for award of Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation.