Keralam duo robbed; Rs. 11 lakh recovered

Mysuru: The Mysuru District Police have cracked the July 1 highway dacoity case in which a gang of armed men had robbed two Keralam natives of Rs. 85.70 lakh on the Mysuru-Nanjangud Highway.

Seven persons have been arrested in connection with the case, Rs. 11 lakh has been recovered, and a search is on to trace the three absconding prime accused, Muneer, Kuran Muneer and Faisal Babu.

Addressing a press conference this morning, Superintendent of Police (SP) Mallikarjun Baladandi said the arrested accused are: Mohammed Harshad (32), a tipper driver from Malappuram, Keralam; Sudhakar (42), an auto driver from Gudalur, Tamil Nadu; Junail Abid (43), an Arabic teacher from the Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu; Nishamuddin (30), a driver; Asif (31), a video editor; Ubaize (54), a driver; and T.S. Sufail (32), a bakery worker, all from Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu.

According to the SP, Ansil Rahman (24), an electrical engineer from Kozhikode, Keralam and his associate Muk Sudol Hussain had come to Mysuru on July 1 to sell gold. After receiving Rs. 85.70 lakh in cash, they placed the money in two bags and left for Gundlupet in a Ciaz car (KL-76-F-7153) at around 3 pm.

Accident and road block

At about 4 pm, near a petrol bunk at Sinduvalli village on the Mysuru-Nanjangud Highway, a Bolero SUV allegedly rammed their car from behind, forcing them to stop.

Another vehicle simultaneously blocked the front of the car while a third vehicle stopped behind, leaving the victims with no escape route.

Five to six armed men dragged Ansil and Hussain out of the car, assaulted them, snatched the two bags containing cash and fled with the victims’ vehicle.

Based on Ansil’s complaint, Nanjangud Rural Police registered a case and formed a special investigation team led by Dy.SP M. Dharmendra.

Police found that the gang had meticulously planned the robbery by dividing themselves into three teams. The first team tracked the movements of the victims within Mysuru and followed them to the outskirts before alerting the second team waiting near the Kadakola toll plaza.

After the victims crossed toll plaza, the second team tailed the car for some distance and relayed its location to the third team, which carried out the robbery.

The SP revealed that the gang had modified the interiors of their vehicles to conceal the stolen cash and avoid detection during vehicle checks. After the robbery, the three prime accused paid Rs. 2 lakh each to the seven accused and escaped with the remaining money.

The breakthrough came after investigators analysed CCTV footage from along the highway and gathered technical evidence, leading to the arrest.