Rachakonda Police Chief Sudheer Babu spoke at a press conference on Wednesday (March 26, 2025). |Picture source: Arrangement
Seven people were arrested in the theft of Bank of India (SBI) ATM in Ravirala, and the gang was stolen in the early morning of March 2, 2025. The gang consists mainly of mechanics from Rajasthan and Haryana, mainly planned by Rajasthan and Haryana and used the refueling volume to break the selling price in exchange for speed of cash to achieve speed of cash.
The defendants were identified as Rahul Khan, 25, Musthakeem Khan, 28, Sharukh Basir Khan, 25, Waheed Khan, 18, Shakeel Khan, 24, and Mohammed Sarfaraj, 28. Four other suspects – Subdin Khan, Rafeeq Khan, Jahul Baddan Khan and Parvez’s alias Mannan – remain Remiain.
On March 2, she said that the ATM CCTV camera was disabled and lost Rs 29,69,900, and a complaint broke out by Korra Sreevani, deputy manager of SBI Ravirala branch.
Breakthrough in the investigation
A special task force was formed that uses technical surveillance, intelligence collection and previous criminal records to identify and track criminals. The breakthrough was when their vehicle entered Hyderabad’s CCTV on March 24. Police arrested them on March 25 as they were scouting another ATM robbery in Kongara Kalan.
Police recovered Rs 4 lakh from the gang with cash, cars, gas tanks, oxygen cylinders and other tools, with a total seizure of Rs 9.5 lakh.
Police said the defendants learned the technology by watching YouTube videos and carefully planned the crime, including scouting ATM locations, purchasing tools, and changing vehicle numbers to evade detection.
Between February 28 and March 1, the gang purchased various tools from a store in Patancheru, paying Rs 8,300 through QR codes. On March 1, 2025, at 6:00 pm, he was charged with a flight from Delhi to Hyderabad and was asylumed by Sarfaraj. Rahul and Waheeb changed the identity of the car before meeting with the group, and at about 2 a.m., they slashed the CCTV cameras in the ATM room by spraying black paint, cutting the ATM cash box with a gas cutter and plundering Rs 2,969 crore. On the way back, they tried to steal on the SBI ATM in Madhuban Colony in Mailardevpally, but fled due to the fire.
Rahul Khan and Musthakeem Khan were previously arrested for similar crimes in Telangana and Odisha, but resumed their activities after release. Working to track the remaining defendants.
publishing – March 26, 2025 at 2:12 pm IST
