TURA: An attempt to rob an ATM in the Tura bazaar area of the town was thwarted by alert residents forcing the gang members to attempt escape towards Assam during which their vehicle turned turtle at Rari village on the main highway early Thursday morning.
The incident took place a little after 1:30 in the morning at the Thakurbari ATM kiosk of the State Bank of India.
The gang’s attempts to break through the ATM machine was heard by residents asleep nearby. They quickly raised an alarm forcing the group to flee in their vehicle.
“They came in a white Bolero and came prepared with equipment to rob the ATM. However the noise they created in trying to break open the ATM alerted residents who came out of their house to check the commotion. When the robbers saw people, they immediately ran for their lives,” said superintendent of police of West Garo Hills, MG Raghavendra Kumar.
The police chief said that an alert was sounded by the police control room in Tura (PCR) to other districts with information on the vehicle and its occupants.
“Their vehicle was later found in Rari in North Garo Hills (NGH) at about 2:45 am where apparently in their attempt to outrun the police, it overturned. They were trying to flip the vehicle when they were intercepted. While the rest were able to flee, one of the robbers was caught. He later confessed to his role and identified a few more of his colleagues. We are on the lookout for the others,” said Dr Kumar.
The gang, according to police, came well prepared and seemed like an interstate group. The equipment, along with masks that they wore during the robbery was also recovered from the vehicle.
The apprehended robber has been identified as one Ramjan Ali from Hajo, Kamrup in Assam.