Siliguri, 24th June: Pradhan Nagar Police have cracked the recent ATM robbery case in Siliguri’s Champasari area, arresting three individuals, one from Haryana and two from Bhakti Nagar, linked to the notorious Mewat gang from Nuh district, Haryana.
Earlier, on the night of 18th June, four masked miscreants arrived in a white car and used a gas cutter to loot approximately ₹10.5 lakh from two ATMs of a private bank in the Champasari More area. The incident occurred between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. under the jurisdiction of Pradhan Nagar Police Station.
Just five days earlier, a similar robbery of ₹45 lakh occurred in an ATM in Maynaguri, Jalpaiguri. During that probe, police arrested four suspects and recovered ₹15 lakh. Investigations suggested that another faction of the same gang was involved in the Siliguri case.
Following a detailed investigation, Pradhan Nagar Police received intelligence pointing to the involvement of the Mewat gang. A police team was dispatched to Haryana, where with local support, they arrested Mohammad Khurshid. Based on his statement, Mohammad Israel and Javed Khan were later arrested from the Bhakti Nagar area in Siliguri on Tuesday morning. Police also recovered ₹3 lakh of the looted money.
In a press briefing, Siliguri Metropolitan Police DCP Biswa Chand Thakur confirmed the arrests and stated that the accused will be produced in Siliguri court today and taken into remand for further investigation.
The DCP further revealed that the Mewat gang specializes in gas-cutter ATM robberies and that its members undergo specific training for such operations. The breakthrough was achieved through CDR tracking, mobile tower location analysis, and inputs from secret sources. The investigation will continue to uncover more details after the accused are taken into custody.