Mumbai: Jobless since lockdown, man tries to cut open ATM; arrested

27-year-old Punit Rana arrested by police

The Samta Nagar Police arrested a man on Sunday for trying to cut open an ATM using a gas cutter. The accused, identified as 27-year-old Punit Rana, resides with his parents and elder brother at Thakur village in Kandivli (East).

As Rana was unemployed since lockdown, he started searching for ways to earn easy money. He watched some videos on YouTube about how to cut open an ATM using a gas cutter. After watching the videos, Rana bought a 5 kg LPG gas cylinder, oxygen cylinder and cutter machine - all worth Rs 15,000.

On Sunday at around 4 am, he reached the ATM centre situated behind the Annex mall with the intent to steal money. While he was cutting the machine, the cops on patrolling duty in the area reached the ATM centre.

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On seeing the police, Rana tried to flee but was caught after a chase. Police recovered the gas cutter and other equipment from the spot. "We have arrested the accused under various sections of the IPC and produced him before the court. He has been remanded to police custody," said senior inspector Raju Kasbe.

In a similar incident, four people were arrested from Mulund a few days back for ATM theft. They attempted to cut the ATM using a gas cutter to steal the money

"Such incidents are on the rise in the city so we have increased police patrolling in our jurisdiction and directed the cops to keep an eye on ATM centres," added Kasbe.

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Read the latest crime stories in Mumbai and rest of India