Police in Jalpaiguri prevented an attempted robbery at an ATM kiosk in Raninagar, on the outskirts of the district, early on Saturday morning.

Kousik Mukherjee from Cheorapara and Pathik Sarkar from Sukurpara, located on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri town, were arrested in this connection.

A source said that around 2.10am, the district police control room received a call from the headquarters of the bank in Mumbai about robbers trying to loot the ATM near the local BSF camp.

A team from the Kotwali police station was dispatched while all other police stations and mobile vans were alerted.

“We found two people near the ATM and intercepted them. Two motorcycles, a gas cylinder, and some other items were recovered from the spot. They had planned to break the ATM but did not succeed,” said Khandbahale Umesh Ganpat, SP, Jalpaiguri.

On June 14, a gang of thieves looted two ATMs at Boulbari in Mainaguri. Raju Roy, a resident, spotted the gang and informed the police. Soon, four persons, residents of other states, were arrested.

“It is good that the banks are also on alert. The CCTV cameras at the ATM were connected to the bank headquarters. When the employees spotted unusual activity at the ATM, they alerted us, and we were able to prevent the crime. The duo will be interrogated to gather more information,” Shouvanik Mukhopadhyay, the additional superintendent of police (headquarters) of Jalpaiguri, said.

Touts nabbed

Personnel of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) posted at Jalpaiguri Road station arrested three touts near Dhupguri railway station on Friday for illegal sale of long-distance train tickets at exorbitant prices.

A source said that over the past few days, the RPF was receiving complaints about a racket of touts active in Dhupguri and surrounding areas. They would buy tickets and resell them, mostly to migrant workers working far away from their homes.