A man who was allegedly a part of the gang that had broken into an ATM kiosk in Tiljala and fled with Rs 13.5 lakh last month, was arrested from Haryana on Thursday night, police said. The vehicle that was used in the crime has been seized.

The police tracked down the Mahindra Scorpio in which the gang had fled from Calcutta to Haryana (via Uttar Pradesh) by checking hundreds of CCTV footages starting from Tiljala’s CN Roy Road to Mathura’s Mahuvan (Uttar Pradesh), over 1,300km from Calcutta.

The Haryana-based gang had deliberately used a second-hand vehicle that was still registered in name of its first owner to avert police glare.

The ATM robbery was carried out on November 20. The CCTV camera was smeared with black paint. The police found out about the Mahindra Scorpio after examining footages from CCTV cameras installed on the road outside the kiosk.

“The route of the vehicle was tracked after scanning over 100 CCTV footages from the city, adjoining districts, till Mathura in Uttar Pradesh,” said a senior police officer.

Once the number plate of the vehicle was clearly visible, the police tracked the person in whose name the car was registered and found that he was no longer the owner. From him the police got the details of the car’s new owners.

During the probe the police found leads that hinted that the gang was from Mewat in Haryana. A team from Lalbazar went to Mewat and zeroed in on Mohammad Shahid, 29, a gang member.

“Although this was an inter-state crime, the gang operated on the basis of the information provided by a local source. The gang was working in close coordination with a Calcutta youth who gave them information about ATM kiosks that did not have security guards or were located on deserted stretches,” said an investigator.

The police did not divulge details about the Calcutta contact saying it might hamper the progress of the investigation.

Police suspect that the same gang is behind the other ATM robberies reported in November.

Similar ATM robberies were reported in Howrah’s Dhulagarh, Michaelnagar in the airport area and Narayanpur in Barasat before the Tiljala robbery. In all these cases, the ATMs were broken using gas cutters.

Based on the statement given by the accused in police custody, a search has been launched for the remaining gang members.

Shahid has been brought to Calcutta on transit remand and has been booked for theft and breaking open a machine that contained money.