Brave ATM guard attacks thieves, foils theft

Bangalore: A 32-year-old security guard of an ATM kiosk bravely took on two armed robbers and helped the police arrest one, after the duo tied his hands and tried to commit theft by breaking open the ATM machine.

The incident was reported in the State Bank of India’s ATM kiosk in Hongasandra on Begur Main Road in Madivala police station limits early Sunday. Saadu­ddin, the security guard at the ATM kiosk nabbed Sandeep, 23, a native of Jammu, and handed him over to the police. However, the other robber managed to escape from the scene and the police are on the lookout for him.

According to the police, two masked robbers came on a bike and entered the ATM kiosk around 3.30 am on the pretext of withdrawing cash. The duo was armed with a machete and a hammer, and they rep­ortedly assa­ulted Saaduddin.

The security guard was asleep when they entered and they assaulted him with a helmet. The duo made him sit in a corner and tied his hands. The accused Sandeep, who masked his face with a cloth, started hammering the mac­hine, while the other accused stood outside the kiosk. His face was covered with a helmet.

“About five minutes later, Saaduddin heard a police bike approaching and attacked Sandeep. As his hands were loosely tied by the robbers, he managed to untie himself and picked up the machete that was left on the ground. He striked Sandeep with the wea­pon and the other accused standing out got scared and fled on his bike. Saaduddin and Sandeep got into a scuffle and Sandeep managed to run away. Meanwhile, beat constables, Manjunath and Tirumala Gowda, reached the ATM kiosk and Saaduddin told them about the incident that occurred earlier,” the police said.

“The cops tailed the blood stains and managed to nab Sandeep who was trying to escape in the dark. He was admitted to NIMH­ANS for treatment, while Saaduddin was also adm­itted to a hospital as he was in a shock,” the police added.

The entire incident is recorded in the CCTV camera insta­lled inside the kiosk and the police are verifying it. Mad­ivala police have registered a case.