Bengaluru: A robbery attempt was foiled as passersby caught the man who robbed a woman inside an ATM of Punjab National Bank on Friday evening in Vasanth Nagar area.

The accused, Mohammed Munnavar (26), is from Assam, the police said. He was arrested a year ago by the Sanjay Nagar police for attempting dacoity. Munnavar was recently released on bail and was leading the life of a vagabond.

The incident took place when the woman and her friend had gone to the ATM to withdraw cash. As there was no guard, the accused entered the ATM, threatened the woman and snatched her mobile, and fled the ATM.

The two women then raised an alarm and the public caught the man and handed him over to police.

During the interrogation, Munnavar told the police that he was left with little money that he earned in jail. So he decided to rob someone.

“The public heard the victim screaming and ran to her rescue. When she told that the person was running away with her mobile phone, they nabbed him and also gave him a thrashing, and handed him over to the police,” a senior police officer said.

When asked about the absence of a security guard at the ATM, he said, “The matter will be raised with the bank authorities.” A case has been registered and further investigation is on.

Last November, after a woman was brutally attacked inside an ATM, Bengaluru Police had framed a set of security guidelines at ATMs to be followed by all banks.