Octopus, Police and anti-terror commandos searched nearly 900 homes at a Hyderabad high-rise for hours last night, suspecting that a gang that had attempted a daring robbery earlier in the day was hiding there.
For eight hours, commandos of the elite Octopus or Organisation for Counter Terrorist Operations in Andhra Pradesh searched apartments at the Happy Homes Towers in the city’s Rajendra Nagar area, looking for at least seven men who had tried to rob a Muthoot Finance office.
In CCTV footage from the Muthoot office, two of the suspects are seen talking to an official, apparently as customers, when a few more men barge in holding guns.
Acting quickly, the official went to a window and waved his arms, frantically screaming for help. One of his colleagues pressed an emergency alarm. The gang was forced to abandon its plan and escape.
The SUV used in the attempted robbery was found at the Happy Homes Towers, which triggered a massive search at the residential complex. A bag, a big blade and a hunting axe were reportedly seized from the car, a Chevrolet Tavera.
The watchman of the building had noticed some men breaking the number plate of the vehicle parked near one of the towers. When he raised an alarm, the men ran away.The suspects are seen in footage from three CCTVs in the complex.
Batches of commandos arrived through the night to look for the suspects, believed by the police to be hiding in two apartments.
