Police identify 22-year-old who tried to break into Khadki ATM in order to fund father's treatment at Military hospital from CCTV footage; theives had left behind oxygen cylinder to cut through ATM metal

Twenty-two-year-old Virendra Pratap Singh learnt at great cost what a dangerous thing half-knowledge can be. Singh, a third-year student of Bachelor of Computer Science in Marathawada College, tried unsuccessfully to break into a State Bank of India ATM in Khadki with his maternal uncle on January 30 and ended up getting arrested.u00a0

Net loss
Singh, who had attempted to break into the ATM to withdraw Rs 15 lakh after reading some how-to literature on the web, panicked when the alarm went off but not before the camera installed at the machine caught him in the act. They had tried to cover the CCTV camera with a cardboard but did not bother when it fell down. Meanwhile, the alarms went off.



Caught by tape
On Wednesday, the police traced Singh on the basis of the CCTV footage and arrested him.

Jalinder Supekar, DCP Zone IV, said, "Singh stood second in the Pune University exams last year. He is a bright student. He downloaded information on how ATMs operate from the internet. He also managed to get details on how to use a gas cutter. He needed the money to fund his father's treatment at the Military hospital. His father has cancer and is in a critical condition."

Singh's father, an army subhedar, is in being treated in a private hospital.

During interrogation, Singh reportedly appeared under tremendous pressure. He fainted as he was being interrogated. Assistant Police Inspector Prasad Paul said, "During interrogation, he learnt how cash was stored inside the ATM machine. He was trying to cut open the metal sheet with the help of a gas cutter when the alarm went off. Singh and his maternal uncle Mukeshkumar Nathu Rai (23) left behind the oxygen cylinder they had used to cut the metal casing of the ATM. It was the manufacturing details on the Oxygen cylinder that led them to the supplier."

Stupid theives
Police sources said the Singh and Rai had asked the shopkeeper they bought the cylinder from to direct them to the nearest ATM. They told him they wanted to withdraw cash. It was after the police matched the CCTV footage of this ATM with footage from the ATM the two attempted to steal from that they identified the culprits.