Bidhannagar police arrest three in salt lake office robbery worth fifty lakh

Kolkata: The Bidhannagar South Police arrested three individuals in connection with a daring robbery worth around Rs 50 lakh, committed at an office located in GC Block in the early hours of last Thursday. The accused were apprehended on Friday night after three separate raids around Tangra. "We have arrested the mastermind, Zumrati Molla, and his two associates, Rahim Ali and Rinku Sheikh. We have identified four other suspects linked to this gang, and raids are ongoing to capture them," said an investigating officer from Bidhannagar City Police. The cops have so far not arrested anyone who might have any link with the office thus ruling out the "insider" angle.
The accused are in police custody, with officers suggesting they might soon recover a significant portion of the looted cash after questioning them. According to investigators, the same gang struck at a doctor's residence in HB Block (house number 181) on January 12 earlier this year. The gang targeted the doctor's residence when he was not in the city, making off with gold ornaments worth lakhs. "During the investigation of that case, a few members of this gang were arrested by us. However, these criminals managed to get bail in February and resumed their crimes," said the officer.

Once out of jail, the gang reportedly committed burglaries and robberies in the Dum Dum, North Bidhannagar, and Sonapur areas. "The accused hail from the Tangra and Tiljala areas. They roam the city on their bikes and strike at any residence they think is unoccupied for the night," said a sleuth. The police studied multiple CCTV footage, spoke to officers who had stopped and chased them in the early hours of Thursday (after they committed the robbery), and used local sources to track them down.
Police said that multiple leads, including CCTV footage and descriptions from officers who had chased them, led to the raids at three different places around Tangra, resulting in the arrests of Zumrati Molla, Rahim Ali, and Rinku Sheikh. In the early hours of Thursday, the accused broke open the lock of a ground-floor office in a two-storey home and stole cash and other items worth close to Rs 50 lakh. The house belongs to an NRI elderly woman who rented out the ground floor to a private firm that runs a dealership of eggs from the building.
Following the burglary, while the burglars were fleeing on two motorbikes without number plates, a police patrol team spotted and chased them. However, they brandished a firearm and escaped through alleys and lanes as the officers failed to capture them after a hot pursuit. The incident occurred around 2 am at GC 184 in Salt Lake, where the burglars broke open the locks at the separate exit for the office and entered the premises. They also used an inside staircase to head upstairs and reach the first floor, where the homeowners stay when they come to India. MSID:: 120646025 413 |