The visuals had shocked not just Bengaluru, but the rest of the country.
In a brazen attack that was caught on CCTV in November 2013, a senior bank officer was intimidated and repeatedly hit with a machete by a robber.
Visuals showed the woman Jyothi Uday being threatened and then hit by the assailant, who left her bleeding inside the Corporation Bank ATM at NR Nagar in the city.
After a three years of relentless chase, the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh Police finally arrested a man in connection with the assault. “Confirmed! Madhukar Reddy arrested by AP police is indeed the accused in ATM case. We will get him to Bangalore soon,” city commissioner Praveen Sood tweeted.
“The accused, Madhukar Reddy was taken in for questioning on January 31 by the Madanapalle police after a few Traffic police identified him on the streets,” Chittoor Police said.
Madhukar is a resident of Nimmanapalli and has several cases filed against him.
According to local media reports, the Madanapalle police had detained Madhukar in connection with a murder, which had occurred in Dharmavaram. Madhukar had also allegedly escaped from the prison in Andhra Pradesh’s Kadapa district.
The big break in the case comes just months after Karnataka police filed a closure report with the Karnataka High Court in 2016 as they could not find any leads in the case.
The ATM attack had left Jyothi with a broken skull and a bone had pierced her brain. A case was registered against an unknown person under Section 397 of the IPC, for trying to cause death.
Doctors had said that it was a miracle that Jyothi survived the attack as she was left bleeding for almost three hours.
The man had escaped with her ATM cards and around Rs 2,500 cash.
The brutal attack eventually lead to Karnataka formulating strict rules including making it mandatory for every ATM to have a security guard.
Speaking to media persons at Ramanagar, Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara confirmed the development. “A joint team of Karnataka and AP police have nabbed the man who had attacked Jyothi Uday, a corporation bank staffer inside ATM at Hudson circle three years ago. He was nabbed in Ananthapura. I congratulate the police,” Parameshwara said.
After three days of questioning, the suspect confessed to the crime, the Home Minister said.
“One Madhukar Reddy arrested by Chittoor Police has indicated his involvement in ATM CASE. Our team has been dispatched to interrogate,” Bengaluru Police Commissioner, Praveen Sood, confirmed in a tweet.