What would you do if you had lakhs of rupees to splurge? Well, these thieves from Maharashtra, who were apprehended by the Bengaluru Police, spent the Rs 34 lakh they stole on lavish hotels, holidays and binge drinking in Bengaluru, the country’s pub capital.
On Monday, three youths, who had stolen Rs 34 lakh from ATM kiosks in Maharashtra, were apprehended by the Bengaluru police while conducting checks for Independence Day.
The trio's luck turned after the Bengaluru Police tracked them down to a hotel in Lavelle Road.
After the massive loot, the three men—Rakesh Subhash Pawar, Nayan Vijay Bansali, and Jyotish Chandilala Gupta, all in their early 20s, decided to holiday in Kashmir, Kullu-Manali, Amritsar and Goa, among other places, before landing in Bengaluru for pub-hopping.
However, when the Bengaluru Police nabbed these thieves, they had blown up most of the money and were left with only Rs 4 lakh, the police said.
“The rest of the money was spent travelling and staying in star hotels. They bought mobile phones worth Rs 60,000 each, which have been seized along with five gold rings and expensive alcohol bottles,” a senior police officer said.
The Cubbon Park Police landed at the hotel where the thieves were put up on Monday afternoon. The trio had been staying in a luxurious room for over a month.
“The robbers would spend the entire day in the room and roam around the city at night. They mostly visited various pubs. The daily tariff for the room is Rs 4,500 and their hotel bill alone was Rs 2,25,000,” the officer said.
The trio had Rs 4 lakh in cash and tickets to the Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express, which they were to board on Tuesday night.
During the interrogation, the three men confessed to looting Rs 34 lakh from ATMs in Mumbai, Kolegaon and Sonar Pada on May 26.
Pawar worked as a custodian with a private cash logistics company in Mumbai and Thane. The other two are his friends, the officer said.
Rakesh allegedly used keys and passwords he had access to and looted Rs 34 lakh from three ATMs in Mumbai.
Soon after the loot, the trio flew to New Delhi on their first plane journey and headed to Kashmir, Kul and Manali. They later travelled to Amritsar and Goa before landing in Bengaluru on June 23. A special team of the Mumbai police is slated to arrive in Bengaluru to take custody of the three thieves.