TIRUPATI: Chittoor Police in Andhra Pradesh arrested an interstate dacoits' gang, involved in multiple offences, and recovered Rs 32 lakh along with firearms, vehicles and other property on Thursday.
Chittoor deputy superintendent N Sudhakar Reddy said a businessman, identified as KV Ashokan from Kerala, lodged a complaint that an interstate dacoit gang had robbed him of Rs 45 lakh near a petrol pump along the Chittoor-Vellore highway on July 1 this year.
Ashokan had alleged that Sheikh Abdullah of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu had approached him through one of his friends claiming that he wanted to exchange his black-money worth Rs 90 lakh in Rs 2,000 currency denomination and struck a deal promising to pay Rs 1 crore in Rs 500 currency denomination.
Ashokan said he was asked by Abdullah and his gang to come to the petrol junction on July 1. Accordingly, Ashokan, along with his friend Mohammed who reached the currency exchange spot and were waiting in their car, were attacked by a bunch of men who were dressed in police uniforms and were armed.
After pulling out both Ashokan and Mohammed out of their car, the gang hijacked the car along with the money bag which had currency notes worth Rs 45 lakh inside.
Chittoor SP S Senthil Kumar formed a special team to probe the case and Chittoor DSP N Sudhakar Reddy, rural CI K Balaiah and his team arrested the nine-member gang while they were on the move near Gopalapuram mitta in Chittoor town on Thursday.
The accused were identified as R Suresh Kumar (29), Abid Basha (37), D Ramesh (54), VK Kumar (54), R Vijayanandan (45), G Murugadas (55), C Jayapal (27), A Jagan Raj (25) and D Srikanth Reddy (45).
