Gang targets three ATMs in four hours, hunt on for suspects

A group of four-five bike and car-borne men committed three back-to-back ATM robberies in west Delhi’s Madipur, Kirti Nagar and Naraina Vihar within four hours early

A group of four-five bike and car-borne men committed three back-to-back ATM robberies in west Delhi’s Madipur, Kirti Nagar and Naraina Vihar within four hours early on Saturday morning, police said.

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The three ATM robberies prompted several police teams to activate their technical as well as human intelligence network to identify and nab the suspects. In one of the three ATMs, the suspects made two attempts within an hour, the police said.

Although the identity of the suspects could not be ascertained till Saturday night, the modus operandi suggests that it could be the work of a gang from Mewat in Haryana. Three separate cases were registered at the Punjabi Bagh, Kirti Nagar and Naraina Vihar police stations.

“All the three ATMs — one of Punjab National Bank and two of Axis Bank — were unguarded and did not have security guards at the time of the incident. The banks are yet to give us an estimate of the exact amount stolen from three ATMs. Several teams are working on the cases,” said deputy commissioner of police (west) Deepak Purohit.

Police said that the robberies took place between Friday midnight and 4am on Saturday. The first robbery took place in an ATM booth located in Madipur area in Punjabi Bagh around midnight. Three men wearing caps and masks entered the ATM booth, blacked out the CCTV cameras using spray paint and cut open the money dispensing machine using a gas cutter. They took out the cash and fled, said a police officer.

According to the officer, the same set of robbers then went to Kirti Nagar and targeted an ATM booth using the same modus operandi. Their third target was an ATM booth in Naraina Vihar. The footage of the CCTV cameras at the booth show that the alleged robbers arrived around 2.30am and attempted the robbery after spraying black paint on the cameras.

“Due to some reason, the robbers then left the ATM. They returned around 3.30am and carried out the robbery,” the officer said, adding that the CCTVs installed on the possible routes taken by the suspects to reach the three ATMs are being scanned for clues.

The police are also scanning the database of criminals who commit similar crimes and are out of jail. Their special focus is on gangs from Mewat region, who have in the recent past been involved in uprooting ATM machines or stealing money from such machines after cutting them with gas cutters.

“Prime facie, it appears that the suspects had conducted detailed reconnaissance of the three ATMs before targeting them,” added the officer.