Chennai, Jun 30 (IANS): The suspect in the serial State Bank of India ATM thefts case in Chennai, Aamir Arsh Alimuddin who was apprehended by the police, was brought to an ATM in the city and made to demonstrate the modus operandi of his gang.

The thief was arrested from a hideout in Ballabhgarh village near Faridabad in Haryana on June 23 and brought to Chennai. The gang stole around Rs 48 lakh from various SBI ATMs in Chennai.

Joint Commissioner of Police Narenthiran Nayar and his team of officers brought Alimuddin to the SBI ATM at Choolai on Wednesday. Police said that the suspect stole around Rs 15 lakh in steps, withdrawing bit by bit around 190 times. The other suspects together stole the rest of the amount.

Police said that the gang covered the sensors while withdrawing the money. Police invited bank officials also to watch the demonstration so that the bank could take steps to prevent such thefts.

A police officer told IANS, "The gang hails from the Haryana- Rajasthan belt from villages in and around Ballabhgarh. These people are educated and Aamir Arsh Alimuddin is a BE graduate. Others in the team are also B.Com, BA graduates and they have swindled money from across the country. They have operated in Tamil Nadu as two gangs and we traced them following the number plate of the vehicle in which they had arrived at the ATM and nabbed them."

Police said that the gang leader Sathakathullah Khan of Ballabhgarh village came down to Tamil Nadu and targeted 19 SBI ATMs/CDMA machines in the state. The gang was behind 9 ATM thefts in the city, police said.

The Chennai city police have arrested three culprits in the case including Alimuddin. The second thief, Virendar Rawat was arrested on June 26, and a third suspect, Najim Hussain was arrested from Faridabad and brought to Chennai by air on Tuesday night.

Police said that 10 suspects are involved in the case, all hailing from in and around Ballabhgarh in Haryana.