Mumbai: Cops foil robbery bid at Govandi ATM

The 19-year-old, a diploma holder in Information Technology, had managed to completely open the machine using his technical knowledge. The cash box in the ATM at Govandi had around Rs. 7 lakh.

The Deonar police on Saturday foiled a robbery attempt at an ATM kiosk, after they caught a youth just as he was opening its cash box.

The 19-year-old, a diploma holder in Information Technology (IT), had managed to completely open the machine using his technical knowledge.

The cash box in the Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) at Govandi had around Rs. 7 lakh.

Assistant inspector Anil Gaikwad and sub-inspector S Lokahnde of the Deonar police station were patrolling when they spotted a man inside an ATM kiosk at Shankar colony, Govandi, around 3am. They entered the kiosk to find the machine opened and the man about to unlock the cash box.

“When we asked him what he was doing, he claimed to be a technician sent by the bank for repair work. We dialled the bank’s customer service number written inside the kiosk, and were informed by a representative that the bank never sends technicians so late in the night,” said Gaikwad. He was then taken to the police station.

The man, identified as Samir Ansari, a resident of Baiganwadi, told the police he wanted to lead a lavish life, and hence came up with the plan of looting an ATM.

“Ansari researched on the Internet for two days to obtain details on the security and other features of ATMs. He then recceed the particular ATM kiosk, which was unguarded, for another two days before deciding on the safest time for the robbery,” Gaikwad said.

“We seized a bunch of keys and five ATM cards from his possession,” Gaikwad said. The police are probing the actual holders of these ATM cards.

Ansari has a younger brother and his parents work in a leather bag manufacturing unit in Govandi.