In a dramatic twist of events, two robbers looting an estimated Rs 40 lakh from an ATM in Noida on Tuesday fell off their bike while trying to escape from the scene as people rushed in to the grab wads of cash, causing a mad scramble on the road. According to the police, the incident happened at around 1:30 pm at an SBI ATM adjacent to gate number 2 of Kendriya Vihar 2 society in Sector 82 when the a custodians from a cash refilling agency arrived at around 1:45 pm to replenish the ATM with cash.

As soon as the two cashiers and custodians of the cash moved out of the van towards the ATM, two unidentified men arrived on a motorcycle and started firing at the guards snatching the bag full of cash, the police spokesperson said.

"While fleeing, their speeding motorcycle rammed into another vehicle and the robbers fell down. At this point, the cash-filled bag was on the ground with wads of currency notes scrambled on the road," the spokesperson said.

As locals closed in on the two robbers, one of them fell into a drain while firing gunshots in the air to scare them away, and the other escaped the spot, the official said. The police also impounded the motorcycle used in the crime.

The police seized a bag with Rs 19.65 lakh from the nabbed robber identified as Nanhe, a native of adjoining Bulandshahr district. Another packet recovered from him had a pistol, two country-made guns and some ammunition, the police spokesperson said.

The police said that it is yet to identify the suspect who the fled the scene. Regarding the remaining money, a police official said that the people took away with the wads of notes that had spilt on the road. The guards came in soon to collect the rest of the cash from the incident site.

A first information report (FIR) has been registered against the two suspects by the police and a probe is underway.

(with inputs from agency)