Three men, armed with knives and firearms, assaulted the machine operator of a power bill collection kiosk in the heart of Ranchi and fled with around Rs 50,000 on Monday evening in yet another alarming pointer to how easy criminals have their way in the capital city.
Worse, the Dial 100 emergency helpline of Jharkhand police routed all calls to Patna, Bihar, when a witness who saw the gang fleeing on a bike made a desperate attempt to get backup from the men in uniform.
City SP Kishore Kaushal expressed surprise over the helpline letting people down in distress. "This should not happen. I will look into the matter," he said.
According to Lower Bazaar thana OC Lalan Thakur, the loot took place around 5.30pm at the anytime payment or ATP kiosk of Jharkhand Bijli Vitaran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) at Radha Govind Street, a stone's throw from the bustling Albert Ekka Chowk.
Quoting injured operator Suraj Kumar (25), whose job is to help JBVNL subscribers pay their bills, OC Thakur said wads of cash was cleaned out from the cash chest installed inside the machine.
"The operation was over in 10 minutes flat. The trio reached the ATP kiosk on a bike. Two barged in while the third closed the shutter from outside. The duo attacked the operator. First, they thrashed him. When he resisted handing over the keys to the machine, he was slashed with knives. As he collapsed bleeding, the men emptied the cash chest and fled," the officer said, quoting Suraj.
Locality resident Kundan Kumar, who heard screams and rushed to the machine operator's rescue, said he saw the gang escaping on a bike.
"I was passing through the lane. I noticed the last pillion-rider as the bike vroomed away. He was stout. When I realised what had happened, I dialled 100; someone in Patna picked up. I tried two more times, but with the same result. Another passer-by reached Albert Ekka Chowk and informed a PCR van. But, police still took 15 more minutes to respond to a situation just 100 metres away. The PCR later took the injured man to Ranchi Sadar Hospital," Kumar said.
SDO of JBVNL's Ranchi central division Ajay Kumar confirmed the loot. "Police have directed us not to touch the ATP machine before fingerprints and other forensic evidence are collected. We can ascertain our losses only after we get access to the machine. Roughly, we suspect, Rs 50,000 has been stolen."
All JBVNL payment kiosks in Ranchi city are outsourced to XIPHIAS Software Technology Private Limited. The targeted ATP kiosk had no guard or surveillance camera. Managing director of JBVNL Rahul Purwar said he would take steps to upgrade security. "We will consider CCTV cameras," he said.
This is not the first time the bill collection centre has been targeted. Last year, goons had decamped with Rs 35,000 of the Rs 4.35 lakh booty they had hoped to bag. Alert operator Ravi Kumar had raised an alarm on time and compelled the gang to flee with only a portion of the money, a local resident said.
City SP Kaushal said they were scouting for surveillance camera footage in the neighbourhood to make a headway in the recent case.
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