KATHMANDU: Nepal Police have come across cases of robbery near automatic teller machines, involving teenagers, who mostly target women.

Metropolitan Police Division (MPD) Inspector Dadhiram Neupane says these teenagers park themselves near the ATMs and act busy to avoid suspicion.

“These robbers are young boys in their early teens. They may be streetchildren smoking or doing sundry things but their intention is to grab valuable things and run. They usually target women wearing ornaments,” adds Neupane.

He pointed out different modus operandi used by the robbers. He told THT that a group of boys station themselves near an ATM. They keep a watch on those using the ATM. On spotting their target one of them dashes into her so that the stuff she is carrying falls down. Others then run away with whatever they can lay their hands on while the victim is busy picking her valuables. “Another boy from that group approaches the victim and acts as if he is helping her. He talks to her so that the victim will not shout or call cops. This gives enough time to his accomplices to run to a safe place,” says Neupane.

Another tried and tested tactic is to hire a vehicle and station it near an ATM. “One boy becomes a vehicle owner and parks it near the counter. He acts busy talking on mobile. On spotting their target, his friend takes out a water bottle and acts as if he is about to wash his hands. He splash that water on to the target, who has just come out collecting money. The water is mixed with red colour. The target thinks someone coughed blood on him. S/he gets busy cleaning his clothes, while the boy snatches whatever valuables he can lay his hands on and gets back to the vehicle and zip off,” adds Neupane.