Kasaragod: The broad daylight theft of Rs 50 lakh from an armoured cash van in Uppala five months ago was the handiwork of the 'Ramji Nagar gang' from Tamil Nadu's Tiruchirappalli district, said Manjeshwar Station House Officer - Inspector Tolson Joseph.
Police said a gang of three men from Ramji Nagar was involved in the one-of-its-kind theft. On Tuesday, Majeshawar police arrested one of them from Tiruchirappalli. Inspector Joseph identified the arrested person as Muthu Kumar (47) alias Muthu of Ramji Nagar.
Around 2 pm on March 27, a cash-in-transit vehicle belonging to Securevalue India Limited (SVIL) pulled up in Uppala town on the National Highway to replenish an Axis Bank ATM.
The van had Rs 1 crore in two boxes of Rs 50 lakh each, said police. The van driver locked the vehicle and went to the ATM kiosk. When he returned, the window pane of the van was broken, and the second box with Rs 50 lakh was missing. SVIL, which manages 36,286 ATMs through a fleet of 2,379 cash vans, had only one staff, the driver, on duty that day. Police initially took him into custody.
But CCTV cameras in the area captured a man wearing shirts and pants hurriedly walking past the van. Subsequent investigation led police to Ramji Nagar, home to professional burglars and thieves, and 15 km from Tiruchirappalli. The gangs in the village resort to diversionary tactics to steal and have mastered the art of striking parked vehicles.
In January, Mumbai's Vashi Police arrested three men from Ramji Nagar with 10 laptops stolen from parked cars. According to Hindustan Times, the gang used a pen-like device to break the window panes of cars. They were so discreet that even people near the car would not notice the car break-ins. They were adept at sleight and swiftly took valuables from cars and moved on to target another car, Vashi police said.
In Uppala, a busy commercial town in Mangalpady panchayat, no one noticed the breaking of the van's window pane, leading police to suspect the driver. According to police, burglary and theft are the main sources of income for around 1,500 families in Ramji Nagar.
The residents of Ramji Nagar originally belonged to a community that migrated from Andhra Pradesh to Karur, before Independence. But there were frequent complaints of theft against them. In 1936, the then-District Administration of Trichy created a settlement near Ramji Moolji Cotton Mills and moved them there.
The mill's Gujarati owner, Ramji Moolji, provided them with jobs in the mill, too. The settlement became known as Ramji Nagar. But a section of the residents fell back to the old ways. Today, they live a lavish life.
Children are trained at a young age and become pros by the age of 15 years. Though not educated, most of them speak several languages essential for their work outside Tamil Nadu. After every successful operation, they return home.
Officers familiar with Ramji Nagar said around 3% of the proceeds from their crimes were deposited into a common welfare account, which covered legal expenses such as fighting cases and applying for bail.
