Three members of Subodh Singh gang held in Telangana jewellery shop robbery case

Hyderabad: Telangana police have arrested three members of the notorious Subodh Singh gang in the daylight robbery in a jewellery shop in Karimnagar town, Karimnagar Police Commissioner Gaush Alam announced the breakthrough at a press conference on Thursday.

He revealed that 13 accused have been identified in the case, and the search was on for the remaining accused.

The robbers struck the PMJ jewellery shop on May 3 and opened fire. Four employees sustained bullet injuries. The robbers decamped with 161 tolas of gold jewellery and 112-carat diamonds.

The Police Commissioner said that Subodh Singh is the main accused, who operates from Bihar and is currently in Purnea jail. He allegedly hatched the robbery plan from jail.

Subodh Singh gang is involved in robberies in Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttarakhand. The gang is notorious for committing robberies in a sophisticated and professional manner.

This was the first time that such a robbery was committed in Telangana, the police officer said. “It’s very difficult to catch the members of this gang, but with hard work, our teams were able to catch some of them,” he said.

The police arrested key accused Raghunath Karmakar, a native of Asansol, West Bengal. He led the gang which committed the offence. Two others — Ravish Kumar and Mehtab Khan — were arrested in Bengal and Bihar.

The arrested include two shooters in a team of five members who committed the robbery. The third arrested person had assisted them.

The investigation revealed that the accused had conducted a recce of the shop two months ago. They had conducted a recce at various places, including Khammam, Mancherial, Peddapalli, Jagtial and selected Karimnagar.

After the heist, the robbers escaped on bikes and took shelter in Dharmapuri. They split into three groups and escaped by train and bus. Five robbers took part in the offence, but police identified eight others who provided logistical and other support.

Police seized Rs 51,000 cash, two mobile phones, two SIM cards and fake Aadhaar cards from the accused.

The Police Commissioner refused to reveal the identity of the accused at large, saying this would impact the investigation. “Hot pursuit is going on to arrest the remaining accused,” he said, adding that the police teams were engaged in the hunt in various states.

The Police Commissioner said they would approach the concerned court to seek permission to interrogate Subodh Singh in Purnea jail.