A gang of 6 including a civil service aspirant were arrested in Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh for robbing ATMS by bursting them with explosives, the Hindustan Times reported.
The gang had been using gelatin sticks to break open ATMs since June last year. Superintendent of Police Hemant Chauhan said that one Devendra Patel (28) was a civil service aspirant and was the mastermind behind the crime who was arrested on Saturday. He had apparently learnt the trick from internet.
The others were identified as Jairam Patel, Jgeshwar Patel, Nitesh Patel, Param Lodhi, and Rakesh Patel. All of them are said to be residents of Khajri village in Damoh district.
Most of them were educated and had a fair grip over technology. The gang used to come in two bikes with their faces covered. Two members would take care of the ATM guard and spray black paint on the CCTV camera while two others connected the detonator with the bike battery. The cash would be on-loaded by 2 members. It was reported that the entire operation took 14 minutes.
However, the gang was caught after a shop next to the ATM in Panna district caught their act. They were arrested from their native villages.
The police recovered ₹25.57 lakh in cash, two country made pistols, 8 live cartridges, detonator, fake currency notes of ₹3 lakh and a colour printer. Police are investigating on the fake ₹500 notes recovered from Devendra Patel.