Dimapur Police arrest five in Rs 25.85 lakh ATM looting case

Dimapur police on Monday announced the arrest of five individuals allegedly involved in the looting of Rs 25.85 lakh from an ATM booth at Half Nagarjan, Dimapur, in the early hours of February 20.

Speaking to reporters, Dimapur Commissioner of Police Kevithuto Sophie stated that the accused are part of an interstate gang. Two suspects were arrested from Hojai in Assam’s Nagaon district, two from Bokajan in Karbi Anglong, and one from Dimapur.

Four of the arrested individuals were identified as Sana Ullah (38) from Hojai, Amir Hussain (41) from Morigaon, Raja Deb (25) from Haflong, and Harum Rashid (29) from Nagaon. The identity of the fifth accused was not disclosed.

Sophie informed that Rs13,50,200 was recovered from the accused, along with a Swift Dzire car and a two-wheeler used in the crime. Police are working to recover another vehicle involved. Additionally, efforts are underway to retrieve the equipment the accused allegedly discarded in the Dhansiri River before fleeing to Assam.

Following the incident, a five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by East Dimapur ACP Imkongsangba Jamir was formed to probe the case.

During interrogation, the accused admitted to using an oxygen LPG cutter to break into the ATM chamber. They had initially attempted to loot the same ATM on February 13 but failed due to a malfunctioning gas pressure regulator. They later procured a new regulator from Nagaon and successfully looted the ATM on February 20 after blacking out its CCTV cameras and wearing masks.

Police investigations also revealed that the gang had previously looted three ATMs—one in Golaghat, one in Jorhat, and another in Meghalaya near the Assam border.

MT