Police from 6 states unite in TN to solve ATM robberies, identify master trainer

Tamil Nadu’s Namakkal has become the meeting point for police officials from as many as six states following the arrest of six robbers linked to a string of ATM heists in Kerala along with the dramatic “encounter” death of one.

Law enforcement officials from Odisha, Maharashtra, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka have converged in Tamil Nadu to dig deeper into the recent spate of ATM robberies in their respective states.

Expertly trained gang

Sources revealed that the six robbers, all from Haryana, were expertly trained to break open ATMs using gas welders without damaging the cash trays. Some of them had earlier worked in companies that design ATMs. They wore masks, specifically targeted SBI ATMs, and sprayed the lenses of CCTV cameras with dye before tampering with the machines.

After a series of ATM heists in Kerala, the gang, attempting to flee via the Salem-Kochi highway, was pursued by Tamil Nadu Police and captured in Namakkal on Friday (September 27), along with the car and container truck they used for the robbery. The police recovered Rs 65 lakh in cash during the operation.

Thrilling chase

Video clips of the police chase, which continued for four kilometres, and the eventual capture of the gang have gone viral on social media. Another video showcases the encounter site, with bags overflowing with money and 500-rupee notes scattered on the ground, rapidly circulating on platforms such as X.

CCTV footage reveals the gang’s reckless escape, on the way colliding with a two-wheeler and a car, in a desperate attempt to evade capture.

“One car was dragged for about 300 metres. It was thrilling; once they realized they were being followed, they had no idea where to hide or how to abandon their vehicle. In previous instances, they would travel in a car with the bags of money and then park the car in the container truck to escape from the police. This time, with the help of intelligence inputs, we tracked the container truck and apprehended them,” an officer recounted.

More heists

Investigators have connected a series of ATM robberies in various states this year to this gang. They suspect that the Haryana gang employed a similar modus operandi in those.

“Four similar ATM robberies, including two in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, and one each in Bengaluru, Karnataka, and Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, occurred in July 2024. The fingerprints recorded in these four cases matched. We are comparing the fingerprints of this gang with previous ones to strengthen our evidence,” an officer told The Federal.

SBI ATMs targeted

Describing the gang’s training, the officer explained, “One member of the gang was killed during the encounter, which was unavoidable, as he attacked the police and injured bystanders.

Preliminary investigations indicate they were trained in the bordering villages of Haryana and Rajasthan three years ago and have since been involved in ATM robberies across multiple states. Over 70 individuals received training, with this gang specifically targeting SBI ATMs.”

Among those arrested, H Zumadin (40) from Palwal, Haryana, was killed in the encounter, while K Azar Ali (30), also from Palwal, suffered a gunshot wound to the leg. The other suspects — Mohammad Ikram (42), Mubarak (18), Sabbir Khan (26), Shoukeen (21), and Irfan (32) — are all school dropouts, many from agricultural families.

Further investigation

Salem DIG ES Uma told the media that the gang may have been linked to at least 15 ATM breaks across South India in the past six months. “There was a recent case of an ATM robbery in Krishnagiri, near the Karnataka border,” she said.

“We will investigate the gang further and hand them over to the Kerala Police. Officers from other states also want to interrogate the gang members about their involvement in various robberies. We need to uncover the entire network and the master trainer behind this gang and identify those who equipped them,” Uma added.

Last year, a few ATM robberies in Tamil Nadu followed a similar pattern, with a gang targeting ATMs in Tiruvannamalai district. The hunt for answers continues as police officials connect various ATM robberies over the years to identify the involvement of the big criminal network.