Mohd. Altaf Aghadi alias Altaf’s change in behaviour gave him away. In a case that made headlines in early August, Rs.66 lakh was snatched from Mohd. Ibrahim, an accountant and Altaf’s uncle, while he was on his way to a private bank in Banjara Hills to deposit the amount.
Altaf was arrested with five other members of the gang involved in the crime, in which Ibrahim was attacked with rods.
Police had been keeping a tab on the 30-year-old Altaf, a resident of Aghapura, after the robbery, and tracking his call details. They found that Altaf was constantly in touch with his friends Syed Amjad, Mohd. Salar, Mohd. Majid, Mohd. Imran and Parvez on August 2.
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Altaf’s behaviour seemed odd to many, with sudden assertions that he had chalked out a plan to settle in life. Moreover, he had not been coming home regularly since the day of the robbery.
Their suspicion aroused, police picked him up for questioning. After being grilled, he confessed to the crime. Based on his confession, all five of his accomplices were arrested a few weeks ago.
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Of the stolen amount, Rs.54.26 lakh had been recovered from the accused, a police official said.
“We are planning to file a petition in a local court seeking police custody of the accused to recover the remainder,” he explained.
Squandered money
Police said Altaf had been working as a salesman at a mobile shop in Secunderabad, earning Rs.15,000 a month.
He had squandered money in cricket betting after obtaining sums from financiers. Unable to cope with the losses, Altaf decided to steal cash from Ibrahim, who works as an accountant at two cloth stores at Charminar.
With the assistance of his friends, he made a note of Ibrahim’s routine, who regularly collects cash from his workplace in Charminar to deposit in a private bank in Banjara Hills.
On August 2, while Ibrahim was proceeding towards Banjara Hills, the accused came in a Toyota Innova vehicle, knocked down his scooter, attacked him with rods and escaped with the cash bag.