Ahmedabad:

Two persons who used to travel by air allegedly to steal money from ATMs have been arrested by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch in Gujarat for theft of Rs 10.72 lakh here, a police official said on Sunday.

During a probe into the ATM theft using a gas cutter under Amraiwadi police station limits this month, it was found the two accused hailing from Punjab had come by flight from Chandigarh to Ahmedabad to carry out the heist, he said.

“They stayed in a hotel near Ahmedabad airport which they booked on the basis of a duplicate Aadhaar card. They purchased a two-wheeler from an online marketing site, bought gas cutters, oxygen cylinders and entered an ATM they chose using Google Maps,” he said.

“They cut open the ATM, stole Rs 10.72 lakh in Rs 500 denomination notes, went back to the hotel, collected their belongings and flew to Delhi. They used to fly to different places to steal from ATMs in this manner,” the official added.

Based on a case registered in Amraiwadi police station, the two were held.

One of the accused, Amarjot Singh Aroda, was arrested at Mohali in 2005 in a murder case and was released on bail in 2010. He was also arrested while trying to break open ATMs in Nagpur and Pune in Maharashtra in April and June this year.

He also has four different FIRs lodged against him in Bengaluru for attempt to murder, robbery, theft, etc, as per police.