COIMBATORE/NAMAKKAL/SALEM: IN dramatic action rivalling movies, the Namakkal police caught five men on Thursday after chasing them for miles on vehicles and on foot, and using a police dog and a drone-mounted camera. Three others, who had escaped falling into the hands of the Namakkal police, were caught by the Salem city police.
They were wanted for robbing ATMs in Coimbatore and Madurai. While the robbery at Ayyankottai in Madurai took place on November 21, ATMs of two private banks in Coimbatore were robbed on Saturday. The machines were opened using a gas cutter. The police had formed seven special teams to investigate the case and were searching for robbers in all southern states, when the eight were caught on Thursday.
The five caught by the Namakkal police were I Mustak Idris (32) from UP, A Salman alias Mubarak (30) and A Zubair (19) from Rajasthan, S Amit Kumar (25) from Haryana and A Zulfiqar (25) from Delhi. Three men — Zubair (33) and Ameen (36) from Haryana and Moshan Khan (34) from Rajasthan — whom the Namakkal police could not nab, were caught by the Salem city police.
Innovative solution
The drones arrived only around 7.30 am when there was enough visibility. By then, the dog had led the police to almost half a km near the wanted men. The police got two drones from private parties in Namakkal and Paramathivelur.