Cracking the daring gold heist case, the police arrested seven members of the 10-member dacoit gang, who struck at a gold workshop at Governorpet on July 11, and recovered 4.025 kg jewellery from them. The dacoits, who looted 5 kg, were arrested in Mumbai, UP and TN.
A revolver, two pistols, 17 rounds of ammunition, three knives and five mobile phones were seized from them, said City Police Commissioner D. Gautam Sawang at a press conference here on Monday.
Mr. Sawang said two conspirators, Tanmai Mandal and Dileep of West Bengal, and gang members Suresh Ayyakutti Tevar of Tamil Nadu, Dasarath Dagudu Dakinger alias Dattu, Khaja Moinuddin Khan, Santosh Ratan Singh Thakur alias Santosh Nepal of Mumbai and Santosh Aditya Bansraj Singh of Uttar Pradesh had been arrested.
The dacoits hatched the plan to strike at workshops in Rajamahendravaram and Vijayawada and they raided a jewellery making unit in Rajamahendravaram on March 9.
Tanmai, who worked in the ‘kharkhana’ (workshop) for a few months, tipped Dileep about the gold work in the workshop.
Notorious criminals, wanted in several other cases, joined hands and conducted ‘recce’ in February and March.
They met at the Gowliguda Bus Station in Hyderabad and came to the city four days before the theft.
“They checked into a hotel in Guntur, visited Pandit Nehru Bus Station, railway station, Prakasam Barrage, Eluru and Guntur Highways,” the Police Commissioner said.
The gang members fled to Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu through various modes of transport and dispersed. When the police parties started chasing them, they moved to Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, Thane, Varanasi and other places.
“The gang members even tried to escape to Sri Lanka on boats from Tamil Nadu, but the police foiled their plans. When they planned to meet near Mumbai and share the booty, we arrested them,” said Joint Commissioner of Police B.V. Ramana Kumar.
Deputy Commissioner of Police T.K. Rana, who camped in Mumbai and visited other places monitoring the investigation, said 12 police teams (about 100 police officers) had made 23 flight trips and engaged 16 vehicles to Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Tirupati and Hyderabad in hot pursuit.
