Kukatpally gold robbery: Vehicle used was sold by owner

Hyderabad: The Toyota Camry car the Kukatpally gold robbers used as getaway vehicle originally belonged to a resident of Mumbai, Pankaj Satyanarayan Saraf, who had sold it to another person without transferring ownership. In fact, police say the vehicle had changed hands several times before being finally bought by the Peruvians on Olx for Rs 2 lakh, but Saraf continued to be the owner in records.

The police first probed Saraf, only to realise that he had sold the vehicle to one Tabriz Shaik, who, had sold it to a Mumbai trio, Rajesh Sony, L.K. Bhatia and Rohith. They sold it Rasheed, of Bengaluru.

Police suspects that Michael and Balkins, bought the vehicle online from owner Rasheed.

Abhishek was random target
The police found that Abhishek Agarwal had not been pre-selected as a target, he was randomly chosen. The gang, which reached Hyderabad on April 9, spent nine days searching for a target. It recced various shops and surveyed routes from the Old City to Chanda Nagar.

Three members of the Peruvian gang purchased the car on April 6. The car was under repair for two days, during which time the gang procured metal objects which they eventually used to deflate the victim’s tyre. When their vehicle was ready, on April 9, they travelled to Hyderabad. Police analysed CCTV camera footage and found the vehicle’s movements from April 9 to April 16.

Richard, who accompanied the gang to Hyderabad, dropped them at a luxury hotel after explaining the plan to them. When the plans failed to produce any results, he came to Hyderabad again, conveyed some more plans, and then went back.

From April 9 to April 16, the gang used to start from the hotel in Saifabad every day, travel to Old City, pass through Charkaman, Charminar, Gulzar Houz, Madina, Alluri Complex, Himayath Nagar, Saifabad, Punjagutta, Ameerpet, Kukatpally and Chanda Nagar, observing gold showrooms, and the movement of employees and traders who visited them. The police said that the trio used the same route daily and then returned to the hotel. The gang did not meet anyone, nor did it venture out to other places of the city. “Their mobile locations were traced back to only these routes, and call records show that they remained near gold showrooms throughout,” an official said.

On April 16, the gang came to Chandanagar and stopped outside the Malabar Gold showroom, waiting for a target. They noticed Abhishek emerge from the showroom with a heavy bag, and they tailed him, waiting for the opportunity to strike. They succeeded in Kukatpally, after deflating his vehicle’s tyres.