Two thieves Sachin (19) and Gagan broke into an ATM in Melekote cross of Doddaballapur in the wee hours a few days ago, having gone well prepared with all the necessary tools to break the device and loot the money. People around the ATM, however, noticed it and alerted the police. The residents chased the thieves and they dropped all their tools at the spot and ran away. Despite being chased, the thieves escaped.
Two policemen, in plain clothes, arrived at the spot, inspected the area and confiscated the tools. Since they couldn’t find the thieves nearby, they left. On their way back to the police station, two men stopped their car and asked for a lift. The policemen stopped the car and let the two men in.
While driving back, they inquired them about who they were and from they were coming. Suspicious of them, the police drove them straight to the police station and questioned them. It turned out that they were the men who attempted to loot the ATM.
Within hours of trying to break the ATM, the thieves, unknowingly, walked directly into the police station.
“Good that they were caught, I appreciate the policemen who found something fishy in the two thieves. We, the villagers can now have a sound sleep. If they were not caught, we would always be in the fear of getting robbed. All that ends well is good" said Rathnakara, a shopkeeper at Melekote cross where the attempted theft happened.
“Good that they were caught, I appreciate the policemen who found something fishy in the two thieves. We, the villagers can now have a sound sleep. If they were not caught, we would always be in the fear of getting robbed. All that ends well is good" said Rathnakara, a shopkeeper at Melekote cross where the attempted theft happened.
Prerna Katte, Assistant commissioner of police, Chakan division of Pimpri-Chinchwad police said, “The bank did not have an alarm system or a security guard in place which could have brought the explosion to light earlier. The sound was not loud as people did not realise it until the next morning when locals went to use the machine. The particles have been sent for chemical analysis to find out what kind of explosive was used.”
On being alerted, bomb detection and disposal squad (BDDS) and other experts were brought to the spot. The police are in the process of extracting a CCTV footage of the incident. A technician is working on the extraction process, according to ACP Katte.
The incident has been recorded at Alandi police station under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and other laws.
The incident has come to light six months after ₹28 lakh was stolen after a group of men are suspected to have tied an explosive to the ATM machine causing it to blow apart upon detonation. That incident was also in Chakan area of Pimpri-Chinchwad.
The Pimpri Chinchwad police had arrested two of the four suspects in that case. The police had intercepted other failed attempt by the suspects in that case in the same month.
The method of theft has been found in several parts of the country few years ago - Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana, according to the police statement during the past case.
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