Police, cash van staff thwart robbery

While cash was being refilled in an ATM in West Delhi, three robbers fired at a security guard, leaving him injured.

The robbers faced resistance as two policemen joined hands with the cash-van staff to take on the robbers. It ended with one of the robbers being overpowered and nabbed while two of his associates managed to escape. The suspects have been identified and efforts are on to nab them.

The injured gunman Kaka Ram Sharma, 23, has been admitted to DDU Hospital with a gunshot wound on his chin. The injury was no more life-threatening, said Pushpendra Kumar, DCP (West), on Thursday. The incident took place outside a Kotak Mahindra Bank ATM in Uttam Nagar at 9.30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Two gunmen, a driver and two other staff members had arrived with Rs.4 lakh cash to be deposited in the ATM.

Two gunmen stood guard outside when three men on a motorcycle approached them. One of the robbers, later identified as Gurpreet, walked up to Sharma and initiated a conversation before shooting him. While Sharma collapsed, guard Kishan Lala opened fire. He missed the first shot and before he could fire again, the other two robbers held on to him, causing him to misfire again. Lala and the two robbers grappled with each other even as Gurpreet pulled up the ATM booth shutters and forced his way inside, but faced resistance from the men inside.

“Gurpreet decided to shoot at them when the cash van driver appeared with a brick and struck Gurpreet on his head,” said a police officer.

In the meantime, one of the two robbers stood up to point a gun at the cash van staff holding the money-laden bag.

But before he could fire a shot, policeman Harbans Hooda relieved him of the gun. “A constable deployed in the Supreme Court’s security, I was near the crime spot with my wife to withdraw money,” he said. More help arrived with another off-duty head constable Mathew, who too stepped in to disarm the third assailant.

“We held on to Gurpreet, but two other robbers took advantage of the crowd to escape,” said Hooda. A hunt is on for them.