A 19-year-old man was caught red-handed while allegedly trying to break open an ATM of a private bank in Manesar area in the wee hours of Tuesday, the police said.

According to the police, another man was present at the spot but fled fearing arrest. The police said ₹80,000 and tools were recovered from the teenager’s possession.

The arrested man has been identified as Tittu Saini, a resident of Narnaul, Rewari, and his aide was identified as Vikas Yadav, a resident of Rewari. Police said they have launched a search for Yadav at suspected locations and hideouts.

Saini was produced in a district court and was taken on three-days police remand, an officer said.

According to the police, a team was undertaking patrol rounds in Nawada Fatehpur village on National Highway-8, near Kherki Daula, when it spotted a man standing outside the ATM kiosk around 4am on Tuesday. “Two police personnel prevented an ATM loot while they were on patrol. They noticed a shadow outside the ATM kiosk and saw a motorbike parked outside. They became suspicious but when they went close, the man fled the spot,” said Rajesh Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (Manesar).

The police said the men had even sprayed black liquid on the CCTV camera to make it dysfunctional.

Kumar said two of the accused had broken open the locks of the shutter and one of them was keeping a watch outside. “Saini had closed the shutter from the inside and was caught cutting the ATM machine with a gas cutter and other tools. The equipment was recovered from the spot,” said Kumar.

The police said that Saini has been to jail multiple times in the past and is a history-sheeter, according to the information revealed during questioning. He is involved in half a dozen ATM thefts, the police said.

“The accused said he used to cover his face before entering the ATM kiosk to hide his identity and even wore gloves,” said Kumar.

Police on Tuesday has written to the bank seeking information on how much cash was filled in the machine, to check the amount of missing cash. Also, the police questioned why no security guard was deployed at the kiosk all hours of a day, despite giving them regular reminders in this regard.

First Published: May 15, 2019 05:19 IST