Quick gun Murugan, bank robbers held

Hyderabad: Cyberabad Police on Tuesday arrested an aspiring 'film producer' N.  Murugan, involved in attention-diversion, theft and dacoity incidents  across Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

His two aides are absconding. The gang was involved in major robberies at Ghatkesar in December 2014 and Balanagar in Mahbubnagar district in August 2014. The gang searched Google and identified banks that are located in interior and isolated locations where security is minimal.

During robbery, Murugan’s wife and his pet dog would accompany him and stand guard. Property worth Rs 1.72 crore was recovered from the gang, police said. Cyberabad police commissioner C.V. Anand said 40-year-old Murugan was a native of Thiruvarur in Tamil Nadu.

He formed a gang in 2008. They initially started committing  burglary and dacoities in Bengaluru. Nearly 29 warrants were pending against them there. They were once arrested by Bengaluru Police and released from prison in 2011.

After release, they shifted their base to Hyderabad, pursuing a career in Tollywood. Cops recovered cash and property together worth Rs 1,72,65,224. Murugan was sent to remand.

Murugan aimed for films

His life’s passion was to become a successful film producer, but his mind was equally or more engaged in actions like petty theft and bank  robbery, which he says was to raise funds for his film projects. N. Murugan’s poor financial status did not support his dreams. He managed to make money by hook or by crook. With a budget of '50  lakh, he produced a Telugu movie  “Manasa Vinava” in 2012, but it  could not be released.

His nephew Suresh, who formed part of the gang, played the lead role in the film. Murugan paid Rs 6 lakh as fees to  the female lead in his film. He later attempted a second film, titled  “Atma,”that was about to be released or so he said -- when he got  trapped in the police cases. Cyberabad police commissioner said Suresh started Balamurugan  Productions in 2011, but could not go ahead due to financial restrictions. He was allegedly a womaniser. As a result, he contracted  HIV and Aids, police said.

Chain-snatchers, conmen arrested

In a major breakthrough, an interstate chain-snatching and attention-diversion gang involved in more than 600 cases across the country -- including 189 in Cyberabad -- has been busted here. Cyberabad Police, that arrested three of its me bers on Tuesday, recovered 2.285kg of gold worth around Rs 70 lakh from them. The gang was led by Taqi Ali and had committed snatchings in Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Cyberabad.

Police said the gang was caught during a vehicle checking in Malkajgiri area. The kingpin of the racket used to fly in, commit a series of snatchings in a day, and fly out. How the gang escaped local  police attention all along remains both a mystery.

Six members of the gang are absconding. Police have listed 121 cases  the gang was involved in. Taqi Ali and another arrested man, Salman  Ali, are natives of Bidar in Karnataka and the third man, Asadulla Abu Irani, from Nanded in Maharashtra. Cyberabad police commissioner C.V. Anand said Taqi formed a gang with  his relatives and started committing attention-diversion offences and chain-snatchings since 2008.

Taqi, Salman and Abu had been arrested in 2012 in Bengaluru. While in prison, they made friends with Radhe,  Gulam, Abbas and Mendi, and drew them into their gang. The four men  are absconding. After release from prison, they started committing more offences.

The gang-members would come to the city, prepare the ground for Taqi and arrange a bike  for him at a railway station or a bus stand. “Once things are in place, Taqi would fly down from Delhi or Mumbai and commit a series of  snatchings in a single day, hand over the stolen material to his  aides, and fly back.

His aides would travel by road to their hideouts in Bidar, Jaipur, Delhi and Lucknow and dispose of the material there, the commissioner said after initial interrogations. The police was keeping a close watch on the movements of suspects after the anti-chain snatching teams were formed in Cyberabad recently.