Police arrest nine in NH-48 robbery case

Haveri: Police solved a robbery case on NH-48 near Motebennur in Byadagi taluk and arrested nine suspects, with the investigation showing that the truck's co-driver was the mastermind behind the crime.SP Yashodha Vantagodi gave this information at a press conference on Friday. The arrested suspects were Anwar Muktumsab, 30, from Dharwad; Hazarat Ali Lagali, 30, from Hirekumbi; Ameer Khan Pathan, 32, from the same village; Ibrahim Beedi, 28, from Kittur; Aspak Channapur, 33, from Hubballi; Saddam Hakim, 33; Rafiq Eligara, 33; Aspak Makandar, 33; and Zeeshan Kanchgar, 32."Police seized Rs 40 lakh in cash, a Swift car and a Mahindra Thar, among other vehicles. The crime took place on the night of March 27. The truck was driven by Sharappa, with the truck owner, Riyaz Ahmad Hanasi, and co-driver Anwar Muktumsab accompanying him. At around 11.45pm near Motebennur, the suspects arrived in a car, intercepted the truck, threatened Sharappa and others, and took a bag of money from the truck's toolbox," SP Yashodha shared.She further informed that they also took mobile phones of those in the truck. Later, Riyaz Ahmad filed a complaint at the Byadagi police station. A team, including Byadagi CPI M B Chikkananavar, PSIs Bharati Kuri, N K Ninganahalli and staff found that Anwar was in touch with the other suspects. During interrogation, Anwar confessed to giving them information about the money in the truck and its movements, which led to the robbery. Police did not specify the amount of money transported in the truck. "Vinod Rathod from Hubballi gave the money in a bag for purchasing electronic goods, and it was placed in the toolbox before it was robbed," SP Vantagodi informed.She said they suspected the amount of money in the truck, who Vinod Rathod was and the purpose of transporting the money, and said these needed to be uncovered in the investigation. Police said they were preparing to issue a notice to Vinod Rathod after obtaining his address. "Security on the national highway will be increased. Five 112 vehicles, two highway patrol vehicles and eight vehicles, including highway check vehicles, will be used for patrolling. A PSI and staff will also be separately deployed for highway security," SP Yashodha Vantagodi informed.Additional SP LY Shirakol, CPI Santosh Pawar and others were present.