Noida: 4 trying to uproot and cart away ATM held after hot chase, gunfight

Four men allegedly trying to uproot an ATM to cart it away with all the cash in it were arrested by Noida police on Sunday after a hot chase and shootout in which two of the accused were injured, said officials.

The arrested accused were identified as Rahul, 27, Parvez, 24, Mukesh, 23, and Arun, 21, all natives of Hapur district, the police said.

In the shootout that followed police’s bid to arrest the accused, Rahul and Parvez were injured and were admitted to a hospital, they said.

The incident took place around 1 am in Phase 2 police station area of Noida where a police patrol team spotted the accused inside a private bank’s ATM vestibule.

“The accused were inside the ATM vestibule and trying to uproot it. They were spotted by a policeman patrolling the area and the four men immediately rushed to their vehicle parked outside the vestibule,” a police spokesperson said.

The police officials on patrolling duty too alerted the local police station and the information was relayed to track the accused, who fled in their Haryana-registered hatchback, the spokesperson said.

“They were fleeing but their car hit the central verge of the road in Sector 88. By that time they were surrounded by policemen, including a PRV team. The accused left the vehicle and opened fire on policemen while trying to flee,” the police official said.

Two of the accused were injured in the retaliatory fire by the police, while the other two were taken into custody, the spokesperson said.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Noida, Ankur Aggarwal said the accused have previously been involved in similar activities.

They had struck an ATM vestibule in Yakubpur village in November last year, and had repeated similar acts in Tilpatta area in Greater Noida last week and in Mamura on Sunday just before the latest strike which led to their arrest, he said.

Meanwhile, two more men were arrested on Sunday for allegedly planning a robbery in Noida, the police said.

Accused Amaan, a resident of Ghaziabad, and Sachin, who hails from Bulandshahr, were held by officials from Sector 39 police station, the spokesperson said.

Weapons and equipment like pliers, screwdrivers, iron rods and customized wrenches were recovered from the possession of the duo, who have admitted to planning a robbery, the official claimed.