Bravery of a 54-year-old security guard, along with the wit of a cashier, averted a robbery attempt by two men at an ATM machine in Outer Delhi's Kanjhawala area on Wednesday afternoon, said police.
In vain, they fired at the guard and robbed his licensed pistol. The act was recorded in the 2 minute 38 seconds footage where it was seen how the guard fought the two helmet wearing men valiantly, police said. The two cash firm employees were carrying Rs 25 lakh in a cash bag which they took to deposit at the Kanjhawala branch of the SBI. Meanwhile, the total cash inside the cash van was around Rs 1 crore, 73 lakh.
Narrating the sequence of events, a senior police investigator said, "Dalip Tiwari, the security guard and Pradeep, cashier, both work at Brinks firm, a finance firm based in C-block of Janakpuri. They were given the task to deposit Rs 1 crore 73 lakhs at 12 ATM machines. They had deposited cash at one ATM machine. By the time they reached the SBI ATM machine at Majra Dabas road at around 2:09pm, they had left their van and carried the cash bag with them to the machine."
"While Pradeep went inside with the bag, Dalip lowered the shutter of the ATM machine kiosk and waited. Within a few seconds, two bikers wearing helmets came and at once fired at Dalip, bullet hitting at his right thigh. They also fired at the shutter. As per the statement given by cashier Pradeep, when he heard the gun shot, he came out. He lied to the men, saying he came to repair the machine while in reality, he had hidden the cash bag containing Rs 25 lakh behind the ATM machine,"
The two men started leaving the spot but before doing so, they snatched Dalip's licensed pistol," added the officer.
The cashier then made a call to the local police which rushed Dalip to a nearby hospital. M N Tiwari, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) said, "The security guard is out of danger. We have registered a case under IPC sections 394 and 397 and 25 and 27 of the Arms Act at Kanjhawala police station. Teams have been formed to investigate the case,"
Although, another senior police officer said, "the robbery attempt seems to be handiwork of some locals of the Majra Dabas area since the two men did not attempt robbery at the first ATM where the security guard and the cashier went to. Based on the description provided by the cashier and the guard, sketches are being prepared of the two men,"