Muthoot robbery solved, six arrested

GHAZIABAD - Six people have been arrested for the Oct 31 hiest at the Muthoot finance company’s branch in Ghaziabad and 1.5 kg of gold worth Rs.30 lakh and Rs.6 lakh in cash have been recovered from them, police said Thursday.

Cash and gold amounting to Rs.1 crore were looted in the dacoity, which took place at Shalimar Garden area of Sahibabad, the capital’s suburb in the Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Raghuvir Lal said five police teams had been set up to solve the case but it was a team of Sahibabad police which arrested the six Wednesday midnight near Tila Mor area. A total of 1.5 kg of gold ornaments, 500 grams silver ornaments, Rs.6.10 lakh in cash, pistols and a Santro car were seized from their possession.

During interrogation, the robbers confessed their crime and said that after committing robbery, they fled towards Loni town and distributed the booty on way. They also bought a Santro car (UP 16 9980) with the looted cash.

The gang comprised Sonu Tyagi (gang leader), whose father runs a shop in front of Khekra police station; Kuldeep Dhama, a marine engineer; Nizam, a scrap dealer who has a lengthy criminal record especially in burglaries; Seetu, son of a Delhi Development Agency (DDA) employee; and Yogendra, son of a cloth merchant in Khekra, Lal said.

Three armed dacoits had looted cash, mobile phones and jewellery worth over a crore from Muthoot Finance Ltd. The three had barged into the office at B-13 Astha Apartments, and overpowered the armed security guard.

While one of the robbers stood guard, the others destroyed the two CCTV cameras before taking the keys of the safety lockers from the accountant at gunpoint. They took away the gold and the Rs. 6 lakh cash available with the cashier in the entire episode that lasted slightly over 30 minutes.