Three months of persistence and patience as well as scanning 150 clips from CCTV camera footage paid off when the Bharati Nagar police on Saturday arrested four men who had allegedly attacked a meat merchant and robbed him of ₹16.6 lakh in January.
As part of the investigation, the special team gathered footage from all the CCTV cameras within a 6-km radius of the attack, said S.D. Sharanappa, DCP (East division).
The accused have been identified as Afsar Pasha, 34, from D.J. Halli, and his associates Syed Thousif, 32, Mohammed Ali, 30, and Mohammed Azharulla, 30, from Shivaji Nagar. According to the police, the prime accused Afsar worked in a butcher’s shop and would often see the victim, Muneer, supplying meat and collecting money from the owner.
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“Afsar hatched a plan with his associates to rob Muneer after he had collected money from all his clients. On January 1, they intercepted the autorickshaw that Muneer and his brother were travelling in on Cockburn Road. They attacked the driver with pepper spray, assaulted Muneer and Lateef, snatched the money and fled in two motorcycles,” said a police officer.
The police recovered ₹4 lakh and two motorcycles from the accused.