HYDERABAD: An unidentified miscreant opened fire and robbed a 24-year-old woman at gunpoint inside an ATM kiosk at Yousufguda early Wednesday. Srilatha, a software employee, stopped at the ATM adjoining the SBI’s Yousufguda branch on way to her office around 7.35 a.m. No security guard was on duty at the kiosk at the time.
Moments after she stepped in, a masked man came from behind and demanded her jewellery and all the cash in her bank account. “I told him the ATM was not working. Then he opened fire with a pistol and threatened me. He took away my gold chain, ring and a pair of ear tops,” Srilatha later recalled.
Funnily enough, the robber told Srilatha he was facing a financial crisis and badly in need of money. “Before firing, he told me he wouldn’t hurt me if I gave him whatever I had,” the techie, a native of Tatipaka who stays in a hostel near the ATM, said. The man snatched her phone and debit card and forced her to part with her pin number before fleeing on a two-wheeler. He also warned her not to follow him and claimed his accomplice will keep an eye on her.
Based on Srilatha’s complaint, the SR Nagar police registered a robbery case against an unknown person. “We have the CCTV footage. We are inquiring about ATM robbery cases from other stations,” A Venkateswara Rao, DCP (west zone), said.
He said they were verifying if the man had withdrawn cash from Srilatha’s account later in the day. Going by the bullet mark at the kiosk, the cops believe he used a country-made pistol. Three teams have been formed to nab the culprit, who is suspected to be a repeat offender.