Two of the five-member gang killed in an encounter with the police in Velachery were also wanted for three bank heists in Mumbai in 2010
Investigations into the shootout of five suspected bank robbers, who struck twice in Chennai earlier this year, revealed that two of those gunned down were absconding thieves from Mumbai, who had fled with Rs 83 lakh.
Last Thursday, the Chennai police received information about five suspected thieves who had daringly robbed two banks in Chennai in broad daylight.
Acting on the tip-off, a police team surrounded a house in Velachery which the suspects had rented in December. Authorities demanded that the suspects come out but they started shooting. Reacting to the gunfire, cops fired back, killing all five of them.
Police have so far identified two of the slain as Sujay Kumar and Raju Yadav alias Abhay. Authorities said that the two deceased possessed two PAN cards that were fake. On Saturday, following the incident the Kandivli police were notified that the thieves killed by them were involved in three bank robberies in Mumbai in 2010.
“We have sent the investigating officers of all the three Mumbai bank robberies to Chennai with the case papers. Out of the five killed in the encounter, two robbers have been identified by our officers; they were involved in cases here,” said Ramrao Pawar, additional commissioner of police (north region).
On June 21, 2010, four armed men had robbed Model Cooperative bank in Malad of Rs 34 lakh. Later, in August, the same group had stolen Rs 27.5 lakh from HDFC Bank in Borivli. In October again, the men had taken off with Rs 21 lakh from Saraswat Co-operative Bank in Kandivli.
Later, authorities claimed to have cracked the case with the arrest of two persons identified as Sonu Gorakh and Brahmanand Dubey. However, the other two were absconding.
—Agencies