An attempt to rob an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) was foiled by alert youngsters of Chinnatekur village in the district late on Sunday (February 23, 2025) night. The incident took place on the national highway under the Ulindakonda police limits, and the police are investigating based on the tow truck abandoned by the offenders some distance from Chinnatekur village.

According to the police, around 1.30 a.m., a few youngsters from Chinnatekur noticed a gang of nearly three to four persons trying to take away a Bank of Baroda ATM on the village outskirts. They immediately alerted the Ulindakonda sub-inspector of police Dhanunjay and raised an alarm. The offenders then sped away in the tow truck, leaving the machine behind.

As Mr. Dhanunjay and the SI of Orvakal police station Sunil, along with the youngsters chased the tow vehicle, the offenders abandoned the vehicle on the highway and fled in the darkness.

Police said the offenders cut the power supply and also the CCTV connection before prising open the ATM centre. After forcibly opening the shutter, they tied the machine with ropes pulled it outside and tried to lift it into the tow vehicle.

Police sources said the vehicle was stolen from Kurnool city, and they are verifying the CCTV footage from Kurnool and nearby Chinnatekur village to identify the offenders. It is suspected that an inter-state gang might be behind the foiled attempt.

Meanwhile, Kurnool Deputy Superintendent of Police J. Babu Prasad, Kurnool Rural Circle Inspector Chandrababu Naidu and others reached have felicitated the youngsters M. Mahesh, Shaik Ilyas, Dilawar Shaik Abdul Rahman and M. Hanef Basha for their alertness and helping the police in foiling the robbery attempt.