A 30-year-old man, who allegedly damaged two ATMs in Kamarajar Salai out of frustration that they did not have cash, was arrested by Madurai City police on Saturday.
Police said a complaint was lodged at Teppakulam police station on Friday by the State Bank of India authorities alleging that the screens of two of their ATMs kept in a kiosk on Kamarajar Salai was damaged by a stranger.
Inspector C. Sethumani Madhavan, who investigated the case, said the police analysed the CCTV footage, which revealed a man attempting to take money from the ATMs in the early hours of Friday. As he could not get the money, he took a stone from outside and damaged the screens of both the ATMs.
Based on the transaction and account details provided by the bank, police sources said that they identified the person as M. Salim Mohammed, a resident of Ismailpuram, who was into sale of used mobile phones near Simmakkal.
Salim allegedly told the police, who detained him on Saturday, that he had gone to Silaiman on Thursday evening to meet his relatives and friends. He reportedly consumed alcohol there and was returning home late in the night when he stopped at the ATM to withdraw money. Frustrated that there was no cash in the ATMs, he damaged the machines in an inebriated state, police sources said. He was later arrested by the police.
