Three arrested in Rs 22.68 lakh bank heist

Ahmedabad, Nov 4 (UNI) City Crime Branch sleuths today arrested three persons in connection with the theft of Rs 22.68 lakh from the lockers of the Social Co-operative Bank here during the recent Diwali holidays and claim to have recovered Rs 4 lakh of the booty from the trio.

However, the master-mind behind the crime, Nasir Khan Mahmood Khan Pathan and another accomplice Firozkhan Pathan, are still absconding, Joint Police Commissioner (Crime) P P Pande told mediapersons here.

Nasir Khan, Mr Pande said, has a long criminal history and was serving a prison term in the Vadodara jail but had secured parole on medical grounds. He was serving the prison term for a Rs 64.40-lakh worth silver heist in 2003.

The three arrested today have been identified as Sarfaraz Karimkhan Pathan alias Bhurio, Raju Shankarrao Lovel and Rehman Munnakhan Pathan. Police also suspect the involvement of Hanif Fazal Sheikh, the cashier of the bank in the crime. He however, is missing.

Mr Pande said the gang had siphoned off the cash in an operation that lasted over two nights when the bank was closed for four days during the Diwali vacation.

Suspecting an insiders job, the police learnt about the cashier's association with Nasir Khan, which led them to track down Sarfaraz, a close confidante of the latter. Sarfaraz was arrested and Rs 69,000 in cash was recovered from him, Mr Pande said.

Sarfaraz, during his interrogation, revealed the names of Raju and Rehman, following which they too were arrested and an amount of Rs two lakh was recovered from Raju and Rs 11,000 recovered from Rehman. The police recovered a further Rs one lakh that Raju had kept with his aunt Hanifaben Yusuf Pathan.

The gang had earlier planned a robbery in the Reserve Bank of India office here but abandoned it, Mr Pande said. They, instead, planned the theft at the Social Cooperative Bank here during the four days of its closure coinciding with the Diwali and Eid festivals.

Rehman was roped into the gang as he is engaged in a fabrication business and his skills were required to cut open the lockers, Mr Pande said. The gang members gained entry into the bank after tearing away the exhaust fan on the rear side of the bank and widening the gap.

The gang entered the bank on the night of October 23 and they escaped on the night of October 24, Mr Pande said.

UNI MP MAZ VKG AKJ RN2119