Bengaluru: Habitual ATM thief returns to steal Rs 18 lakh

A notorious thief recently returned to the city along with his associates and stole around Rs 18.6 lakh from an ATM. They used a gas cutter to break open the machine and steal the money.

The police have initiated a search for the habitual offenders.

Rajaram R, the head of FSS in Karnataka that maintains cash at ATMs of various banks, filed a complaint stating housekeeping staff Govindaraju called him at 10.30 am on February 7 to say that a Canara Bank ATM in Chamarajpet’s 1st Main, Anantha Ramaiah compound, had been broken into. The suspects left behind a gas cutter and a cutting machine.

Rajaram rushed to the kiosk in the afternoon to find that the miscreants broke into the ATM safe locker (cassette) and stole the money. On reviewing the CCTV footage, they saw a man entering the kiosk around 10.50 pm on February 6 and leaving the following day at 3.50 am.

The police and the complainant discovered that the person captured on the CCTV camera was Samarjyot Singh, who had stolen money from another Canara Bank ATM in Subramanyapura in August 2021 by using a gas cutter. He was then arrested.

Rajaram informed the police that there was around Rs 18,65,500 in the ATM.

Singh had been arrested by the North division police in 2020 and by Soladevanahalli police of the North division in June 2022. While in jail, he met Jafar from Kerala and formed a team and committed ATM thefts in Byatarayanapura, Jalahalli, Banashankari, Mico Layout, and Parappana Agrahara.

After each arrest, Singh came out on bail and continued to target ATMs. Chamarajapet police have taken a case against Singh and his gang.