Wayanad: The Wayanad Police have arrested a gang from Palakkad for allegedly carrying out a highway robbery in Maharashtra. The suspects were nabbed while returning home after travelling nearly 700 km by road.

The incident happened on Saturday night when the gang looted ₹1.5 crore from a vehicle in Maharashtra’s Satara district. After the crime, they drove back to Kerala the same day. Acting on a tip off from Maharashtra Police, Wayanad District Police Chief Taposh Basumatari and his team tracked the gang's movement.

"We had information the moment the vehicles entered the district through Kattikkulam by evening on Saturday, and we had tracked their movement without giving any clue to them", he told Onmanorama.

The police tried to stop them at Kainatti near Kalpetta as they entered NH 766, the Kozhikode–Kollegal National Highway. However, the gang, travelling in a Mahindra Scorpio, refused to stop and sped away. A chase ensued, following which the police apprehended all six members of the gang.

The arrested are Kummatermed Chithira Nandakumar, 32, a native of Chirakkadavu, Palakkad; Kanikkulam Kanjikulam Ajithkumar, 27; Polppulli Palanamkurissi Ushanivas Vishnu, 29; Malambuzha Kanjirakkadavu Jinu, 31; Vavulyapuram Thonippadam Kaladharan, 33. All the accused are natives of Palakkad.

Police suspect that several members of the arrested gang may be involved in similar cases in Kerala. An investigation is currently underway to verify their criminal backgrounds. Apart from the money, police also seized weapons from the arrested gangsters.

Maharashtra Police have also claimed that the vehicles used in the Satara robbery were spotted at multiple other crime scenes in the past. The search for another vehicle involved in the crime is still on, the police said.

The operation was carried out by Sub-Inspectors Vimal Chandran, NV Hareeshkumar, OS Benny, Additional SI Mujeeb Rahman, and Civil Police Officers PM Siddique and K Ebin. A police team from Maharashtra arrived in Wayanad on Sunday, took custody of the gang, and escorted them back to Maharashtra the same day.