Two from Tamil Nadu arrested for robbery,Rs 15.7 lakh recovered

The man told the driver that a bundle of notes was lying below the cash van.

“The guard saw notes lying on the road and he stepped out of the van to collect them. Several Rs-10 and Rs-20 notes were scattered near the van’s tyres. While the guard was busy collecting the notes,two other gang members entered the van and fled with iron box that contained Rs 55 lakh,” a police officer said.

Following this,police began probing the role of various criminals with similar modus operandi. On Saturday,police learnt that the gang members had assembled in Lodhi Colony and were planning to flee to Tamil Nadu.

“We laid a trap at Khanna Market,where they had assembled. Two persons came to the spot and were identified by an informer. We arrested the duo,who were identified as Rajan (51) and Mati Vanan (50) and recovered a sum of Rs 15.7 lakh,” the senior officer said.

Police are on the lookout for the kingpin of the gang,one Murgesh. During the investigation,the duo confessed that they had come from Tamil Nadu and were active members of the ‘Thak Thak gang’.

Police said they used similar modus operandi — diverting drivers’ attention — to commit thefts in Mumbai,Noida,Haryana and Punjab.

In some cases,the accused persons used a rod to break cars’ window panes and steal valuables. Explaining the profile of the gang,a senior police officer said the gang would commit three to four thefts daily for a few days and return to Chennai,to sell stolen goods.

They would move to another city to avoid being apprehended by police. The members of the gang also carried cloth catalogues to pass off as salesmen dealing in garments.

Last month,four members of a gang from Tamil Nadu had been arrested for their involvement in similar theft cases.

In January last year,four members of another gang were arrested from Malviya Nagar.