If sources are to be believed, the lack of coordination between STF Uttarakhand and Haridwar police has had an adverse impact on the investigation of ATM loot case wherein some miscreants had decamped with about `37 lakh after breaking the codes of the ATMs. The incident was reported on August 30 this year.
Three miscreants, including mastermind Zamir alias Amit, involved in this case have been arrested so far but the one who had escaped with the loot is still at large. It will be recalled that locals had caught two accused- Shahnawaz and Shafiq withdrawing money from SBI ATMs and had handed them over to the police on August 30.
A police officer said that STF Uttarakhand had been established to crack cases on its own or cases transferred to it by the senior police officers regarding issues related to anti-national activities, organised crime, inter-State crime and inter-district crime in coordination with district police.
Sources state that when the AMT heist case came to light, teams from STF and Haridwar police started work to arrest the accused. However, the case also exposed clash between the Uttarakhand STF and Haridwar police when both attempted to claim
credit for arresting mastermind Zamir from Siliguri, West Bengal.
In the course of investigation, it was revealed that the same gang which had looted ATMs in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar and UP had looted ATMs in Haridwar. Teams have been deployed at various places including Maharashtra to nab the accused.
The STF received intelligence inputs about the mastermind hiding in Siliguri after which it got in touch with Siliguri police and sought co-operation to arrest the mastermind at a particular location while stressing that the STF personnel would reach there soon. Meanwhile a Haridwar police officer who was investigating the case as part of STF team, informed his senior in the Haridwar police. They also approached Siliguri police stating that Haridwar police team was being sent to arrest the mastermind. Due to similar request from the STF and Haridwar police, the Siliguri police themselves arrested the mastermind and produced him in the local court. later Haridwar police brought the mastermind- Zamir on police remand.
The STF team reportedly did not get enough time to interrogate Zamir to learn about the whereabouts of the absconder and the loot.
lack of coordination between the State STF and Haridwar police has become a matter of concern for senior police officers.