September 28, 2024 • Makkal Adhikaram
In the forest area next to Namakkal, SI Ranjith and Kumarapalayam Inspector Thavamani are chasing the robbers. Asroo runs away from it. Juman stumbles and falls there. He attacks the SI who is going to catch him. The inspector shoots the gun fearing that the SI’s life is in danger. Juman dies in it.”
Salem Range DIG Uma briefed the media about the incident that took place between 10.30 am and 10.45 am on September 27 near Komarapalayam in Namakkal.
Salem Range DIG informed about the incident. What does Uma say? According to the police officials, what happened in Kerala and subsequently, in Tamil Nadu?
On September 26, three ATMs in Thrissur were smashed into machines and cash was looted. According to the police, with the help of a gas welding machine, only the top of the ATM machine was removed and the money was not damaged. The robbers then fled with the cash.
When the Thrissur police examined the CCTV cameras in the area, it was found that the robbers were involved in the robbery. On September 27, at around 6 am, Thrissur SP called Namakkal SP Rajesh Khanna and informed him about this. DIG Uma said he informed his superiors and shared the information with all police stations under his control and ordered vehicle checks.
DIG Uma said that the police immediately stopped and searched vehicles in different parts of the district and within an hour, the Kerala police again called the Namakkal SP and informed him that the car was being loaded into a container truck.
The police were also instructed to stop and check the container trucks. At around 8:45 am, when the Namakkal police were checking vehicles on Kumarapalayam road, a container lorry with Rajasthan registration number did not stop even after the police stopped it. The police immediately chased the truck on two-wheelers.
The lorry, which was speeding towards Sankagiri, did not go through the tollgate as it was there, but returned the same way. All the police stations in the district were informed about the lorry, which was heading towards Veppadi after circumambulating Sankagiri town twice, and all places were put on alert,” explained DIG Uma.
According to the police, while making a U-turn near Sanyasipatti, a car and two bikes collided with the truck and sped away without stopping.
According to the police, the truck was stopped by the police and the driver was taken down and questioned. It was only then that we came to know that the lorry was from Thrissur.
Following instructions to move the truck away and bring it to the webshop, the police say the noise from the rear was louder as the police went behind the truck.
On checking the rear of the truck, the police found a Creta car without a number plate and two other persons inside it.
“At that time, driver Juman, using a truck repair device in his hand as a weapon, attacked Inspector Thavamani and ran away. Chasing them, SI Ranjith ran and Thavamani also ran after him.”
When the fugitives were entering the forest-like area, a stream intervened and the SI tried to catch Juman, who had slipped and fell. DIG Uma told reporters that Inspector Thavamani opened fire to save the SI when Juman attacked Ranjith with a weapon in his hand.
“At that time, Inspector Kali shot and arrested Asroo who was pelting stones at the police,” he said.
While narrating the incident, DIG Uma shared more information about them: Five of them are from Palwal district of Haryana; Two are from the neighbouring Nua district. Their business is to smash ATM machines with gas welding machines and loot money. In particular, the ATMs of the State Bank of India (SBI) are being overloaded with cash and hence the machines are being targeted and looted,” he said.
“Five people came in a container truck that left Haryana with a load in Delhi. After that, two people came with the Creta car. They unloaded the lorry in Chennai and went to Thrissur. There, with the help of Google Maps, they marked down the ATM machines and went in a car and committed the robbery,” he explained.
According to the police, they parked the container truck at a place and took the looted money from the car and went to the place where the truck was. After a short distance, they loaded the car into a container in a secluded area and all of them came on this road, planning to go back to Haryana.
“Earlier, we have arrested two persons from Mewat district of Haryana for looting ATMs in Krishnagiri district,” DIG Uma said.
I don’t know if they have anything to do with them. There are no reports of any other cases against these seven in Tamil Nadu. Since it is an encounter, a judicial inquiry is going on. So I still haven’t counted how much money I had. Arrangements have been made for the injured Asru to be treated in Coimbatore. We are interrogating others. We are also trying to inform the family of the deceased.
It is yet to be checked for any firearms, such as firearms, inside the truck. Forensic experts are currently examining it. They do not seem to have any links with the Bavarian gang or any other terrorist group. Their only goal is to steal money from ATMs; When asked if it was a planned encounter, he said, “The police had already received information about the truck before it hit the car and bikes and caused an accident. They drove the truck fast thinking that the police would catch them. That’s where the accident happened.
When the car made a U-turn near the petrol pump, they dragged the car for a distance of 250 metres. The police did not know that the car and two men were inside until they stopped the vehicle and questioned it. They have made some alternative arrangements at the back of the container to allow air to pass,” said DIG Uma.
The deceased, Juman, was 40 years old. The injured Asroo was 28 years old. The arrested have been identified as Irfan son of Shakoor of Chopta Khan in Palwal district, Sabir Khan (26) son of Liaquat Khan of Khudali, Shaukeen son of Subhan Khan of Malay village, Mubarak son of Barum of Lakhnaga village and Mohammad Ibrahim (42) son of Abdul Hameed of Bisru village in Nua district.
DIG Uma said that the Thrissur police were on their way to investigate and that she thought that more police from other states would be contacted once the news came out.
List of ATM robbers released
The Pallipalayam police arrested the people who came to Pallipalayam from Kerala in a container lorry. The arrested have been identified as Irrfan, Sabbir Khan, Shoaib Khan, Mohit Ibrahim and Mubarak. A youth named Jamaatin was shot dead in the shooting and a youth named Azirali, who tried to escape, is undergoing treatment in Coimbatore with injuries.
