Burglars broke open an Automated Teller Machine of the Punjab National Bank (PNB) at Kollidam Tollgate on the city’s outskirts and looted Rs. 21 lakh cash from the machine.
The “grave offence” came to light on Thursday morning when public came to the ATM to withdraw money and alerted the local police upon finding the machine damaged. The police have recovered a monkey cap and a hammer from the crime spot adjacent to the PNB, Bikshandarkoil branch, situated along the main road.
As the last transaction at the ATM is said to have been done around 9.15 p.m. Wednesday, Tiruchi Rural police believe that the crime could have been committed between the late and the early hours by those who were technically adept.
The culprits had tampered the lock and broke open the ATM to steal cash that was loaded only on Wednesday evening. According to the First Information Report, cash looted from the ATM was Rs. 21.26 lakh. Some chance prints have been spotted from the premises, Superintendent of Police R. Lalitha Lakshmi said after inspecting the spot.
Deputy Inspector General of Police, Tiruchi Range A. Amalraj inspected the crime scene and conducted enquiries.
Police have obtained some footage from the surveillance camera installed inside the room and were pursuing them.
Fingerprint experts inspected the spot where a tracker dog specialised in crime detection was brought to the spot to track the route taken by the culprits.
Going by the modus operandi , the investigators believe that the crime could have been committed by two or more persons. Two special teams — each headed by an inspector — have been constituted to probe the case. Investigators conducted enquiries with the bank officials.
