In a bizarre turn of events, a late-night ATM robbery attempt in Jalgaon ended in failure and flames, leaving the would-be thieves empty-handed and a cash dispenser destroyed. The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Saturday, has prompted a police manhunt for four unidentified individuals.
The Failed Heist: A 40-Minute Ordeal
The target was an unmanned ATM kiosk of a nationalised bank located in Supreme Colony, along the busy Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Road in the Jalgaon MIDC area. According to Inspector Baban Avhad of the MIDC Jalgaon police station, the incident unfolded around 4 am on Saturday. A car carrying four men pulled up to the kiosk, which had no security guard present.
Equipped with a gas cutter, the burglars entered the kiosk and spent nearly 40 minutes trying to break open the cash dispenser. Alarmingly, the ATM's alarm system, designed to alert authorities, failed to function. This gave the perpetrators ample time to work, but their plan soon went awry.
Fire Erupts, Thieves Flee
During their prolonged attempt to cut open the machine, the cash dispenser somehow caught fire. Faced with the sudden blaze, the four men abandoned their mission and fled the scene in their vehicle, leaving behind the burning ATM without any stolen cash.
The fire was first noticed by an alert autorickshaw driver, who saw smoke billowing from the kiosk and immediately informed the local police station. Police teams rushed to the spot and called in the fire brigade to extinguish the flames.
Significant Cash Lost in Flames
The financial loss from the botched robbery is substantial. Inspector Avhad stated that bank officials provided information indicating a little more than Rs 11 lakh in cash had been loaded into the ATM a few days prior to the incident. The intense fire completely gutted the money inside the cash dispenser.
The MIDC Jalgaon police have registered a case of attempted theft against the unidentified individuals. A key focus of the ongoing investigation is to ascertain the exact amount of cash that was present and destroyed in the fire, as the precise figure is yet to be confirmed. Police are examining CCTV footage and other evidence to identify and locate the four suspects.
