DIMAPUR, March 18: Dimapur police have arrested five individuals allegedly involved in stealing Rs 25.85 lakh from an ATM booth at Half Nagarjan in Dimapur, Nagaland, in the early hours of February 20. The arrests were made across multiple locations, with two individuals apprehended from Hojai in Assam’s Nagaon district, two from Bokajan in Karbi Anglong district, and one from Dimapur.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Sana Ullah (38) from Hojai, Amir Hussain (41) from Morigaon, Raja Deb (25) from Haflong, and Harum Rashid (29) from Nagaon, Assam. The name of the fifth arrested person has not been disclosed. Police have recovered Rs 13,50,200 of the looted money from the accused. Additionally, a Swift Dzire car and a two-wheeler vehicle, both used in the crime, were seized by the police. Authorities are still working to recover another Swift Dzire car involved in the heist.
Following the crime, a five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by East Dimapur ACP Imkongsangba Jamir, was formed to investigate the incident. During interrogations, the accused revealed that they used an oxygen LPG cutter to dismantle the ATM chamber. After spraying the CCTV cameras with black paint to obscure their identity, they looted the ATM and fled to Hojai.
The accused had initially attempted to loot the same ATM on February 13, but their efforts were thwarted due to a malfunctioning gas pressure regulator. They subsequently brought a new regulator from Nagaon and successfully carried out the heist on February 20. Police investigations also uncovered that the accused had previously looted three other ATMs: one in Golaghat, one in Jorhat, Assam, and another at the Assam-Meghalaya border.
Authorities have also revealed that the gas cutter used in the crime was disposed of in the Dhansiri River at Full Nagarjan. Despite efforts by divers, the cutter has not been recovered yet, and the police have requisitioned the assistance of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to locate the tool.
