According to the police, four unidentified thieves broke into the ATM machine of the State Bank of India on Thandriyal Road in the town of Korutra. They managed to open the ATM with an air knife and removed five cash boxes.
Updated – 11:08 AM, Mon – 16 January 23
hunt: In the early hours of Sunday, Jagtial district police thwarted an escape attempt by a gang who stole over Rs 1.9 lakh from an ATM in Korutla town.
According to the police, four unidentified thieves broke into the ATM machine of the State Bank of India on Thandriyal Road in the town of Korutra. They managed to open the ATM with an air knife and removed five cash boxes.
However, activity in the ATM triggered an alarm, alerting bank staff who immediately dialed 100 and called the police. Korutla SI Satish, who received the call, notified a Blue Colt patrol near Ilapur.
The patrol team including Sergeant Medi Rajaiah, Constable Gattu Srinivas and driver Madhu acted immediately and were on the scene within seven minutes.
When the police arrived on the scene, the thieves were moving the cash box into the car and panicked and tried to escape.
Madhu, who was driving a police car, tried to stop them by side-ramming the fleeing vehicle, throwing one of the thieves out of the vehicle. Although he was pursued by two officers, he managed to jump into the car of the group, which by this time had managed to get out of the police vehicle. As the group sped away, they reportedly threw four cash boxes out of the car to stop police from pursuing them.
According to police, one of the gang’s remaining boxes was empty and cash was strewn across the road in an attempt to escape. The police seized the cash and recovered the entire stolen amount of Rs 1,900,200 from the scene.
Police Commissioner Ch Sindhu Sharma congratulated the Korutla police for stopping the theft. She congratulated Superintendent Rajaiah, Constable Srinivas and driver Madhu.
Jagtial DSP R Prakash has formed a special team to catch the gang.
