Woman critical after Bangalore ATM machete attack

Bangalore, Nov 19: A woman was critical after an unidentified assailant attacked her Tuesday with a machete inside an automatic teller machine (ATM) kiosk in the city centre.

"The incident occurred when the assailant hit the victim, Jyothi Uday, 44, a manager in the Corporation Bank's Mission Road branch, on the head with a machete inside her bank's ATM kiosk and left her bleeding before disappearing with her cash (Rs.2,500) and mobile," Deputy Commissioner of Police D.C. Rajappa told IANS here.

She was rescued by passers-by who noticed blood spilling on the road from inside the kiosk, whose shutter was pulled down by the assailant after the attack.

No security guard was present at the kiosk when the incident took place.

Jyothi is battling for life in a hospital.

"We have registered a case under section 397 of the Indian Penal Code for attempting to cause death or grievous injury while committing robbery or dacoity and formed a special team to nab the assailant at the earliest," Rajappa said.

The CCTV camera footage, obtained by the police from the bank, shows the unmasked assailant entering the kiosk when Jyothi was before the ATM to draw cash, and threatening her after pulling down the shutter from inside.

"As seen in the footage, the assailant took out a country pistol and a machete from a shoulder bag and asked Jyothi to draw cash from the ATM. When she tried to escape, he pushed her to a corner and hit her on the head with a machete. After checking her bag, he left the kiosk by again pulling down its shutter from outside," Rajappa described after viewing the footage.

The ATM kiosk is located on the ground floor of the LIC building diagonally opposite the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike head office in the Corporation Circle and a furlong from the Ulsoor Gate police station.

"As the assailant did not wear any mask and is clearly seen in the footage, we have circulated his photo to all police stations and check-posts to trap him before he gets out of the city. We are hopeful of cracking the case," Rajappa added.

IANS