JOIN USAn unarmed security guard posted at an ATM kiosk at Hongasandra foiled a robbery attempt by nabbing one of the two suspects on Sunday morning.
Shahabuddin, the 32-year-old guard, whose hands and legs were tied by the two intruders, managed to free himself and attack one of the miscreants, eventually helping the police arrest the suspect.
In a statement to police, Shahabuddin said he was on night duty at the State Bank of India ATM kiosk near the APR Kalyana Mantap at Hongasandra. He was sleeping in the kiosk when two masked men barged in, around 3.40 am. Policemen on night patrol had visited the kiosk by midnight to check the presence of the guard.
At first he took the two men to be customers. However, one of them hit the guard hard on the back of head with a helmet. The duo kicked him around, gagged him and tied his hands and legs with the rope they had brought with them.
Of the two intruders, one wore a helmet and another had covered his face with a shawl.
The man with the helmet on his head stood guard outside, while the other one broke open a part of the ATM with a machete and iron rod. However, he was unable to lay his hands on the cash in the safe.
Their plans went haywire as a cheetah bike (police patrol vehicle) came near the kiosk around 4.10 am. The man, who was standing guard outside, alerted his accomplice and fled.
According to Shahabuddin, by that time, he had freed himself and pulled the legs of the miscreant who was inside the kiosk.
He snatched the machete from the hands of the intruder and attacked him with it. The fleeing miscreant suffered a grievous head injury and the two cops on the Cheetah bike nabbed him.
T D Pawar, DCP (South-East), told Deccan Herald that the arrested had been identified as Sandeep, 23, from Jammu and Kashmir. More details are awaited as he is under treatment.
Sandeep was first taken to Nimhans and then shifted to Jayadeva Hospital. He is said to be stable. Shahabuddin works with a private security agency – SMS Security Services – in the City. Madiwala police have registered a case.