Karnataka Police Arrest Infamous Kakrala Gang Amid Ongoing Investigation of Davangere Bank Heist

Davangere (Karnataka), March 31 (NationPress) The police in Karnataka's Davangere, who are investigating the bank heist that took place in October 2024, initially faced a lack of leads. However, their pursuit of various inquiry paths surprisingly led to the resolution of several significant cases, including the capture of the infamous Kakrala gang from Uttar Pradesh.

"Resolving this case has resulted in numerous successes for the police in Davanagere and across Karnataka. Not only did we recover a majority of the stolen goods and apprehend the criminals involved in the Nyamati SBI robbery, but our teams also managed to arrest active members of the Kakrala gang," stated Davanagere SP Uma Prashath on Monday.

This breakthrough has led to the detection of various other property crimes involving banks throughout South India. Apprehending these individuals is expected to prevent further crimes committed by the same gang, she noted.

In an effort to investigate the Nyamati SBI bank gold heist, one innovative approach taken by the police was to gather clues from sites of prior unsuccessful bank thefts in Karnataka. For instance, one notable attempt occurred at the SBI bank in Holehonnur, located 30 kilometers from Nyamati, on August 2, 2024.

Technical evidence gathered during this investigation led to the conclusion that the heist was likely orchestrated by members of the Kakrala gang, originating from Kakrala in Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh.

There are approximately 5 to 6 gangs of bank robbers in Kakrala and its nearby areas that have been infamously executing bank thefts and robberies throughout the country, especially in South India, for over a decade. This includes a significant gold heist from the SBI branch in Rayaparathy, Telangana, that occurred in November 2024.

The Kakrala gang's methods showed notable similarities to the Nyamati bank theft, with the only distinction being the use of chilli powder.

Typically, the Kakrala gang aimed at banks situated near large fields. Their methods included entering through windows, employing gas cutters, stealing the DVR, and avoiding mobile phone usage entirely.

From November 2024 to February 2024, investigation teams carried out multiple operations in challenging terrains across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh to capture these gang members.

Thanks to information gathered during these operations, the police successfully arrested five notorious members of the Kakrala gang earlier this month, identified as Guddu Kalia, Aslam aka Tantun, Hazarath Ali, Kamruddin aka Sareilly Babu, and Babu Sahan.

These individuals had been evading law enforcement in various cases in Karnataka from 2014 to 2024, with notable incidents including the 15 kg gold theft from the Karnataka Grameena Bank's Hosahalli Branch in November 2022 and the 4 kg gold theft from the Karnataka Grameena Bank's Bevuru Branch.

This marked the first time any of these offenders had been apprehended by the Karnataka Police. Importantly, inquiries with these suspects led to the identification of various property crimes that had recently occurred in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

However, the police were unable to directly associate these offenders with the Nyamati bank heist and continued their investigation in this regard.

Despite a thorough examination of extensive data, pinpointing the offenders proved to be a challenge.

Even though the robbers of the Nyamati branch executed the heist without leaving behind any evidence such as fingerprints, CCTV footage, toll records, or cell phone data, the police managed to identify and apprehend the perpetrators, who were revealed to be Vijay Kumar (30), Ajay Kumar (28), Abheesheka (23), Chandru (23), Manjunath (32), and Paramananda (30). Vijay Kumar and Ajay Kumar are siblings, while Paramanda is their sister's husband. All six are first-time offenders.

The primary accused, Vijay Kumar, concealed a significant portion of the stolen gold in a locker and lowered it into a secluded well in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, intending to retrieve it after two years to evade capture. He was the only individual aware of its location.

Nevertheless, he and his accomplices had begun liquidating some of the gold to construct houses and expand their businesses. The police also recovered gold that had been pledged at various financial institutions under the names of Vijaykumar’s relatives and gold sold at multiple jewelry shops over the past five months. Overall, the police successfully recovered 17 kg of the stolen gold.

IGP B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda of the Davanagere East Zone announced on Monday that the gang had intended to utilize the gold after two years when the case would have faded from memory. With three of the accused being relatives and the other three being friends of the main accused, none had disclosed the secret and returned to their normal lives post-crime. They intended to share the loot after its liquidation two years later, according to the IGP.

Sources within the police revealed that following the gold heist, the accused stored the stolen bullion in a vehicle and parked it in Nyamati for three days. Once the vehicle searches ceased, they transported the car back to their village near Madurai in Tamil Nadu.