Ludhiana: Four miscreants break open ATM with gas cutter, flee with ₹7 lakh

Police say the robbers were captured in a CCTV footage and are suspected to be linked to a similar ATM robbery reported in Kailash Nagar last year.

A group of unidentified miscreants targeted an ATM kiosk of ICICI Bank near ELDECO on the Jalandhar Bypass during the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, breaking open the machine with a gas cutter and fleeing with an estimated ₹7 lakh in cash.

The ATM that was targeted by the miscreants near Jalandhar Bypass in Ludhiana on Saturday Night. (Manish/ HT)

According to police, four suspects were captured in CCTV footage installed in the vicinity. The accused reportedly arrived in a car and executed the robbery between 1.30 am and 2 am before escaping from the spot.

Police officials said a similar ATM robbery had been reported in Kailash Nagar on December 27 last year and investigators suspect that the same gang may be behind both incidents.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the miscreants first forced open the shutter of the ATM kiosk before using a gas cutter to slice through the machine. The ATM reportedly contained around ₹7 lakh in cash, which had been loaded into the machine on February 6.

The incident came to light on Sunday morning when local residents noticed the damaged shutter of the kiosk and alerted the police.

Acting on the information, a team from Ludhiana Police reached the spot and launched an investigation.

A nearby resident said the ATM kiosk remains locked at night as no security guard is deployed at the site. “The kiosk was shut during the night. In the morning, people noticed that the shutter had been broken and immediately informed the police,” he said.

Harshveer Singh, station house officer of Salem Tabri police station, said, “The miscreants used a gas cutter to break open the ATM machine and escaped with the cash. The exact amount of cash stolen is yet to be confirmed, but it is estimated to be around ₹7 lakh,” the SHO said, adding that there was no CCTV camera installed inside the kiosk.

However, police have examined surveillance cameras installed in nearby areas, which reportedly captured four suspects arriving in a car.

An FIR has been registered in connection with the incident and police teams have been deployed to trace the accused, the SHO added.