A gang of four criminals broke into an ATM kiosk, looted around ₹9 lakh and torched the kiosk in the Eastern Bypass area of Siliguri early on Wednesday.

A police team chased the goons but could not nab them. They, however, recovered the SUV used in the crime.

Sources said that around 3.30am, a group of criminals raided the ATM kiosk of a nationalised bank near Ashighar More, an important crossing on Eastern Bypass.

They used a gas-cutter to break the locker and took out the cash. After the loot, while they were leaving the spot in an SUV, a police patrol van in the area saw them and gave them chase.

The gang members, however, managed to elude the police. They dumped the SUV in Himachal Bihar, a locality in Matigara block on the northwest of Siliguri, and fled in another vehicle.

“During initial investigation, it has been found that a gang of four persons entered the ATM kiosk. They looted around ₹9 lakh in cash, set fire to the kiosk and fled in a vehicle. Later, we recovered the vehicle. Investigations have started to identify the gang,” said Rakesh Singh, the deputy commissioner (east) of the Siliguri Metropolitan Police.

The police have also found that the seized SUV (a Tata Sumo) was stolen on Tuesday night from the Eastern Bypass area.

“Before the loot, one of the gang members, who had his face covered, walked into the kiosk and sprayed a chemical on the CCTV cameras to blur the video-recording,” said a source.

Later in the day, senior police officers visited the spot and collected evidence, including whatever CCTV footage was available of the crime.

“The information the police have gathered so far suggests an interstate gang,” said a source.

On June 19, burglars looted another ATM from Champasari in the northern parts of the city.

On June 15, a similar ATM heist had taken place at Boulbari of Maynaguri in the neighbouring Jalpaiguri district, when the gang escaped with over ₹50 lakh.

On June 22, a gang of criminals cleaned out a leading jewellery store of valuables worth ₹11 crore from Siliguri's Hill Cart Road area.

Shankar Ghosh, the BJP MLA of Siliguri, alleged these incidents were the fallout of worsening law and order in and around the city.

“Recently, there had been back-to-back lootings of ATM and an armed robbery in a prominent jewelry showroom. These incidents hint that the police have miserably failed to control crimes here,” said the MLA.

Snatching cuffs

A 40-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday for snatching an elderly morning walker’s gold chain inside Karunamoyee Housing Estate in Salt Lake, Calcutta, around 6.30am on Monday. Annapurna Chatterjee, 72, a resident of the complex, lodged a complaint. Accused Sonu Dolui was arersted based on CCTV camera footage.