Tracing on the right track

Clues hold key to any murder probe and a chance questioning of the accused person helped the police solve this bank robbery case in a jiffy, writes K. SRINIVAS REDDY.

HOW DOES a policeman gather information about criminals? A movie buff might say that the policeman drafted for surveillance would pose himself as a roadside vendor and keep an eye on the suspect while watching his movements. This does happen in real life, sometimes in investigation of complicated cases, but the strongest point for a policeman would be his ability to keep his eyes and ears open.

Bits and pieces of information about people of dubious reputation might pass off as very routine and having no consequence, but for a trained policeman such inputs would be of great interest. Any input about a bad character is certainly worth pursuing and if the follow-up action is perfect, some sensational criminal cases get solved in a jiffy.

That was what precisely happened in case of the investigation into the murder of a bank employee Dattoji Rao who was allegedly stabbed to death by four persons who snatched a cash chest containing Rs. 10 lakhs over a fortnight ago. A woman bank employee and the victim were fetching the cash to their bank in Saroornagar when the accused persons stabbed the bank attender, pushed aside the autorickshaw driver and fled in the vehicle. It was found abandoned near Karmanghat later.

The woman employee who was an eye witness to the incident could barely give the descriptive particulars of the assailants. In this background, the Task Force head constable, Mr. Hanumantha Rao, learnt about Ramesh, a resident of Asifnagar, that he was spending lavishly. Ramesh was known to be a `gudamba' seller. Curious at the piece of information, Mr. Rao began digging more about Ramesh. He was never known to be a rich man, but now was dishing out crisp new currency notes.

Where did he get that money? Task Force officials were not even thinking of the murder-cum-robbery when they picked up Ramesh for questioning. But they were in for a shock when Ramesh made a clean confession. He told the police that Kanaka Raju, a sweeper of the bank, was the mastermind behind the operation and that Abbas and Laxman were the other two associates who participated in the operation. The surprised officials immediately formed a special team which went after the others and nabbed them immediately.

Raju, it was stated, had masterminded the plan as he knew about the movement of heavy cash from one branch to another. He enlisted the help of the other three persons and the operation was carried out meticulously. Immediately after the robbery and murder, they went to Ramesh's house and split the money among themselves. The police have recovered Rs. 9.46 lakhs cash. The four are now in judicial custody.

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Section  : Southern States
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