KOCHI: The investigation team probing the twin ATM robbery case at Irumpanam and Koratty conducted the evidence collection with the accused on Wednesday. Haneef Khan, 37, of Mewat in Haryana, and Nazeem Akbar, 24, of Jurehra in Rajasthan, the first and the third accused in the case, were taken to the SBI ATM at Irumpanam, from where the six-member gang had looted `25 lakh. The evidence collection, lasting about two hours, was conducted by a seven-member police team led by Hill Palace CI Uthamdas. The accused were sent to police custody on Tuesday.
According to the officers, the arrested persons demonstrated the modus operandi they followed to enter and steal the cash. They had taken five cash boxes used for storing `500 and `2,000 notes in the ATM with them in the pickup van they had stolen from Kottayam. "After breaking the ATM in Irumpanam, the accused shifted the money from the cash boxes to a bag and dumped the boxes from the pickup van along the way to Kalamassery. Two of the five cash boxes were recovered", said Uthamdas.
Three accused are yet to be arrested in the case, while the sleuths arrested another accused Pappu Palsingh aka Pappy, who is currently lodged in Tihar Jail in a motorcycle theft case. Officers said he was named accused in 19 cases and his custody was procured by another police team.
The Hill Police will file an application before Tripunithura First Class Judicial Magistrate as the officers are planning to get the custody of Pappy at the earliest so they can complete the evidence collection, since the custody of the accused will end on November 20.
Officers say they can track the rest of the accused who are on the run before November 20, the day when the police custody of the arrested ends.