Bid to loot ATM foiled; accused give cops the slip

Ludhiana: Four unidentified men tried to rob an ATM kiosk of Axis bank at Sartaj Nagar, Noorwala road early on Wednesday and failed. The loot bid was foiled as the alarm went off at the bank headquarters in Maharashtra when the accused used a gas cutter to break open the machine.

Immediately afterwards, the headquarter alerted Ludhiana police. When the PCR reached near the spot, two accused standing outside the kiosk alerted their associates. The robbers escaped in a car, with the police in pursuit. Eventually, the accused reached a dead-end but just as the police moved in to arrest them, they took out a gun and opened fire. Since the police did not retaliate, the accused managed to escape.

Inspector Jasvir Singh, SHO, Jodhewal police station said police have lodged an FIR against the accused for trying to rob the ATM and firing gunshots at the police. When asked how the accused managed to escape from a dead-end street, the official said police were outnumbered.