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Burglars caught in shuttered ATM after intense fight with cops

Last Updated 27 January 2020, 20:05 IST

In a swift action, police caught two men holed up in a shuttered ATM and trying to loot Rs 15 lakh in cash in the early hours of Monday.

Harsha Arora, 36, and Samarjot Singh, 32, both from Punjab, were caught red-handed in a State Bank of India (SBI) cash machine in Deepanjali Nagar, Mysuru Road, sometime around 1.30 am. The arrests were preceded by a flurry of activity and intense action.

Here’s how the duo prepared for the heist but was caught in the act:

Driving a Škoda, they got a gas cutter weighing 100 kg, oxygen masks, iron rods and other tools needed to cut open the cash machine. They then went looking for vulnerable ATMs located along Mysuru Road, in and around neighbourhoods such as JJ Nagar and RR Nagar. When they stepped inside three SBI cash machines, burglar alarms immediately went to the bank’s head office in Mumbai. The bank promptly forwarded the alerts to Bengaluru police.

Around 1.20 am, the police control room alerted H G Praveen Kumar, a constable patrolling the streets of Deepanjali Nagar. By this time, the suspects had moved on to another, more vulnerable ATM. The first thing they did after stepping inside was to cover the CCTV cameras with bubble gum and throw black ink on it.

Unaware of which ATM was the target, the constable started checking each cash machine in the neighbourhood. Finally, he saw an ATM near the BHEL Signal, with its shutters down and smoke billowing out.

Certain that someone was inside, the constable asked for reinforcements. Soon after, four Hoysala patrolmen — sub-inspector Krishnappa, head constable Basavaraj, assistant head constable C Prakash and constable Anand — arrived at the spot. When the policemen tried to open the rolling shutter, one of the suspects hit Basavaraj with an iron rod in the leg.

More policemen then arrived at the scene. Finally, the cops managed to open the shutters. What they saw inside left them stunned. The suspects were ready to fight. One of them hit Prakash with the iron rod and tried to escape. Another man banged his head on the shutter in a similar attempt. But police managed to nab them.

Brijesh Mathew, Chandra Layout police inspector, said the duo had been arrested.

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(Published 27 January 2020, 17:49 IST)

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