A ‘masked-man’ broke open an automated teller machine (ATM) of State Bank of India in Vanasthalipuram’s Sahara Road in the small hours of Monday and made away with ₹ 6.5 lakh in cash, the police said.
Vanasthalipuram police said that the incident came to light only after a customer went to the ATM centre to withdraw the money and found the machine open. Soon, he alerted the police, who in turn rushed to the spot and found the machine was cut open and there was no cash in the chest.
The offence is expected to have taken place between 2.30 a.m. and 3 a.m. and there is no security guard for the centre. Unfortunately, neither the surveillance cameras, nor the alarm installed at the ATM centre were functioning, Vanasthalipuram Assistant Commissioner of Police M. Shankar told The Hindu .
Wearing a mask and gloves, the offender walked into the ATM center with a bag and pulled down the shutter, he said.
“Using a gas cutter, he cut open the machine, stuffed the cash in his bag, and left the centre,” the officer said, adding that the entire episode was recorded in a CCTV camera installed in a nearby shop.
Police said that the offender had taken away the hard disk connected to a hidden camera, which was kept inside the cash machine.
Later, he got into a car parked a few metres away from the spot, however, the CCTV visual is not clear.
“Special teams are formed and we are working on the leads,” the officer said.
Mr. Shankar said that the maintenance of the ATM center was handed over to a prominent private company by the bank officials. “He might have committed the offence in less than 30 minutes,” the ACP added.
