A timely alert from a 55-year-old woman helped prevent an ATM robbery near Avadi during the early hours of Friday. Commissioner of Police A.K. Viswanathan rewarded the woman.
K. Sumathi, a resident of Perumal Kovil Street, Kollumedu, under the Avadi Tank Factory police station limits, woke up around 2.30 a.m. on Friday. “My mother spotted a man standing suspiciously outside the ATM and later he tried to break it open,” said K. Senthil Kumar, Ms. Sumathi’s son, who is into agriculture. Ms. Sumathi alerted Senthil Kumar and he woke up the neighbours. Together they closed the ATM shutters and the robber was trapped inside. The Avadi Tank Factory police were informed about the robbery attempt. They reached the spot and opened the shutters. The robber was caught and taken to the police station. The police gave his name as Theerthamalai, 35. He has been remanded in judicial custody. Later, Mr. Viswanathan rewarded the woman for her timely alert. “It was a proud moment for my mother," said Mr. Senthil Kumar.