Delhi: ATM thief gets caught after his hand gets stuck in machine

NEW DELHI: A man was caught trying to break into an ATM with a gas cutter after bank authorities noticed CCTV cameras going blank at a kiosk in Vishwas Nagar near Shahdara late on Monday. The criminal, Nazir alias Babu (22) was caught with his hand stuck inside the machine when cops forced open the door. Police seized a gas cutter and gloves from him.



Around 11.30pm on Monday, the PCR received a call from bank officials about theft at the ATM on street number 3 in Vishwas Nagar.

When a PCR van reached the spot, they found the shutter halfway down. The door was also closed. When cops forced open the door, they found a man with his face covered and wearing gloves trying to cut open the machine. His right hand was stuck inside the ATM.

The criminal was arrested for theft and trespassing. DCP (Shahdara) Nupur Prasad confirmed the developments.

During interrogation, Nazir said that he had conducted a recce of the ATM and found that no security guard was posted there. On Monday night, he went to the kiosk with a gas cutter, covered his face with a cloth and wore gloves to avoid leaving behind fingerprints.

After entering, he used spray paint to blacken the three CCTV cameras installed above the machine. However, as soon as he did that, a bank staffer at the main branch noticed the screens going blank and alerted the cops.

The arrested man said that he used to work as an electrician in an electrical company at Aurangabad in Maharashtra before moving to Delhi for better opportunities.

Cops are checking if Nazir was part of a gang that uprooted and fled with ATMs in southwest Delhi a few months ago. The criminals had managed to take away approximately Rs 30 lakh by uprooting the machine in Chhawla village. A few days after that incident, another machine was taken away from Bindapur in southwest Delhi, which had approximately Rs 3 lakh cash.