A gang of masked men broke open an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) at Jalahalli and made away with over ₹26 lakh.
The incident came to light only on Monday morning when the bank sent technicians to repair the ATM as it had gone offline since Saturday night.
According to the police, the cable that connected the machine to the bank’s intranet network was cut on Saturday night. It was inspected on Sunday but, as it was a holiday, it was scheduled to be fixed on Monday. “The machine was cut open and money stolen,” said the police,
Jalahalli police have registered a case and have set up special teams to investigate the case.
The ATM was broken into with a gas cutter after which the burglars accessed the cash box and the money.
“The bank has told us that the CCTV cameras in the kiosk had not been functioning for a couple of months. Even the camera in the ATM seems faulty. There was no security guard as well. The bank has been negligent. They should have informed us of the cable being cut on Saturday,” said Dharmendra Kumar Meena, DCP (North).
While police sources suspect that the cable was snapped deliberately to ensure that bank was not immediately alerted of the robbery, Mr. Meena said it was too early into the investigation to comment. “The machine has been cut open very professionally. A lot of planning has gone into this crime,” he said.
The police are examining footage from other CCTV cameras in the area. Initial leads suggest that at least four masked men were involved. The visuals indicate that the gang robbed the ATM around 1 a.m. on Monday.
