Shillong: East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem has justified the police firing during a mob attack on a team of Meghalaya Police in Nuh district of Haryana, stating that officers opened fire only after a violent crowd attempted to lynch them and snatch their weapons.

Addressing the incident, Syiem said the police team had produced one of the arrested accused, Rahul, in a local court on March 10 and was escorting him back to the city when they were intercepted by a group of around 30 people at Sikravah.

In a viral video, a Meghalaya Police Gypsy was surrounded by a crowd and attempts were made to free the accused.

According to the SP, the accused tried to grab the wheels and overturn the car thereafter the crowd assembled demanding that the accused be released. The situation escalated as the mob allegedly tried to snatch the police personnel's weapons.

"The police personnel on the spot acted with restraint and responsibility. They fired in the air and also on the ground. One of the bullets ricocheted and hit a person," Syiem said, adding that the injured individual is recovering.

He said the firing was carried out because the officers feared for their lives as the mob had turned violent and attempted to lynch the police personnel.

"This was a very violent mob that wanted to snatch weapons and lynch the police. The firing was justified as there was a real threat to their lives," he said.

Following the incident, a case has been registered in Haryana and around 12 individuals involved in the attack have been identified. The investigation is currently underway.

Syiem further said the arrests in the case were made with the assistance of Assam Police, Haryana Police, and the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) unit of Nuh district.

He noted that carrying out such operations in the district is challenging due to its history of criminal activity. "It is not easy because it is a very crime-prone district," he said.

The police are also tracing the financial trail linked to the accused to determine how the stolen money was used. "We are looking at the trail of cash because they have used the money to pay their dues. We are trying to track in case funds were transferred elsewhere," Syiem said.

He added that such crimes are often facilitated by local networks. "People from outside will not commit a crime unless it is with the help of local facilitators," he said.

First instance of professionally executed ATM thefts

Calling it the first time such a highly organised ATM theft operation has been seen in the district, East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem said the accused involved in the recent cases were "professionals" who managed to break open and loot ATM machines in less than seven minutes.

"This is the first instance where we have seen people actually professionally looting an ATM in such a short span of time. The time they took to steal cash from each ATM was roughly about seven minutes," Syiem said.

Three cases of ATM theft were reported in East Khasi Hills district in recent months. The first incident took place on May 21, 2025, when an ATM booth at Mawkriah was broken into and cash amounting to Rs 28,13,100 was stolen.

Another incident occurred on December 30, 2025, at Smit, where miscreants stole Rs 35,57,000 from an ATM booth. In a similar case on February 8, 2026, an ATM at Mylliem was targeted and around Rs 35,00,000 was stolen.

Following the incidents, cases were registered at Mawngap and Madanrting police stations and a detailed investigation was launched.

On February 27, 2026, a seven-member team from the Special Cell of East Khasi Hills Police led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (Operations) Simseng Sangma was sent to Nuh district, Haryana, to track down the accused.

Working with the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) of Nuh district, the police team arrested two key accused - Salim (26), a resident of Dorakhi in Mewat, Haryana, and Rahul (31), a resident of Bazidpur in Nuh district - on March 10 from Nuh city and Pingwan. Both were allegedly involved in cutting open the ATM machines. A court later granted five days of police custody for the two.

Police also arrested two local facilitators - John Fishal Lyngkhoi (32) from Umpling and Joyous Dura (47) from Mawlai Nongkwar in Shillong - who allegedly helped identify the ATMs targeted by the gang. The court granted six days of police remand for the two.

According to the SP, Lyngkhoi is a surrendered cadre of the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council, while Dura is a former member of the Special Operation Team (SOT) of Meghalaya Police. Syiem added that both have a history of criminal activities and were responsible for conducting reconnaissance and identifying the ATMs that were later looted.