ATM burglars fleeing after Kerala heist held in TN, one shot dead

HOURS after a brazen burglary in Kerala's Thrissur district where a gang of seven from Haryana made off with about 65 lakh from three SBI ATMs, Tamil Nadu police intercepted the gang in a dramatic chase that ended with the gunning down of one suspect and detention of six others.

- R KIRUBAKARAN

The incident unfolded on Friday as the gang attempted to escape in a container truck by ramming into several cars and two-wheelers at Komarapalayam in Namakkal district.

The gang had loaded the getaway car into the container after the robbery to mislead police, sources said. Two police officers were injured in the chase.

While the deceased was identified as Zumadin Hameed (40) of Palwal district in Haryana, the injured burglar, Azar Ali (30), was from Nuh district. The deceased's body was sent to the Sangagiri Government Hospital and the injured were admitted to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. The other suspects, B Mubarik (18), L Sabir Khan (26), S Shoukeen (21), Irfan (32) - all from Palwal and A Mohammad Iqram (42) from Nuh have been arrested and are under police custody.

According to Kerala police, the burglaries took place between 2.30 am and 4 am on Friday. The State Bank of India ATM at Mapranam was the first to be burgled at 2.30 am.