Bidar robbery accused rode 160 km to Hyderabad on motorcycle, shot pvt bus firm staffer

BIDAR: The two robbers who killed a staffer of a cash management firm and made away with Rs 93 lakh, were involved in another shootout at Afzal Gunj in Hyderabad on Thursday evening. A ticket manager of a private bus operator was injured in the shooting, but the duo managed to flee in an autorickshaw.

The two robbers had travelled 160 km to Hyderabad on a motorcycle. While making their way out of Bidar, they dumped the cash box and put all the bundles of currency notes in a backpack. At Afzal Gunj in Hyderabad, they bought tickets to Raipur in Chhattisgarh at Roshan Travels by giving fake names and phone numbers.

When the ticket manager Jahangir asked the men to open their bags for checking, one of them pulled out a firearm and shot twice at him. The duo then fled from the spot in an autorickshaw. Hyderabad East Zone DCP B Bala Swamy said, “Around 7.15 pm on Thursday, a firing incident happened in the area under Afzal Gunj PS. Some unknown person came to the travels and booked the tickets but while boarding the bus, the ticket manager spoke to them as he felt something suspicious. After that, they fired at the manager and fled with two bags…it seems like that they are the same persons who committed a robbery in Karnataka”.

Meanwhile, ADGP Harishekar said eight teams have been formed under DIG (Kalaburagi range) Ajay Hillori and Bidar SP Pradeep Gunti. The teams have fanned out in Karnataka, Telangana and Maharashtra to trace the accused along with techincal experts. One of the accused has been identified as a student enrolled at the Mahatma Gandhi University in Lucknow.

Harishekar said, “We have identified the culprits and we will arrest them soon. We have also discussed with the Hyderabad police since a shootout occurred there also and a case has been registered. The main accused has been involved in several similar robbery cases”.

The ADGP confirmed that the duo had travelled to Hyderabad from Bidar and were involved in a shootout at the travel agency too. “A case has been registered in Hyderabad to and we are taking up a joint operation to locate and arrest the accused”, he added.

After the firing incident at Afzal Gunj, the duo is suspected to have headed towards Secunderabad and from there to north India. Meanwhile, based on a complaint from Giri Nagaraj, the brother of the deceased Giri Venkatappa, the Market police in Bidar have registered an FIR against four people including the two robbers, the head of the cash management firm and the SBI chief manager.