Tiljala: A Calcutta police night patrol team caught two men trying to break open an ATM in Tiljala early on Wednesday.

The men were spotted inside an unguarded ATM on GJ Khan Road, raising the suspicion of a team of officers, police said.

"The duo were trying to prise open the ATM on GJ Khan Road. They seemed fully prepared with all kinds of house-breaking tools such as saw, hammer and screwdriver," an officer of Tiljala police station said.

On seeing the police, the men tried to escape, but were caught after a 100m chase, sources said.

The night patrol team of constables Pradeep Kumar Ojha and Mohammad Alam, homeguard Intakhab Ahmed and civic police volunteer Sayed Ahmed were prompt in their action, a senior police officer said.

The robbers have been identified as Sheikh Aman, 19, and Sheikh Sajid, 20 - both residents of GJ Khan Road, a few blocks away from the ATM they had targeted. "A gun loaded with live cartridges, a screwdriver, a saw and a hammer were seized from them," the officer added.

Sajid had been arrested once earlier for allegedly assembling and plotting a dacoity, according to police records.

This is not the first time that unguarded ATM kiosks have been targeted in the city at night.

At least three such cases have been reported this year - two in Patuli and one at Regent Park. The Patuli robbery was solved within hours of it being reported. In two instances reported over the past few months, the robbers managed to break open the first metal door of an ATM before encountering the number lock on the metal door inside.

"Despite repeated alerts and communication about the security concern, several banks do not post guards outside their ATM kiosks. Also, the CCTVs are not always properly maintained," said an officer of the anti-rowdy squad of the detective department.