Theft of 30 a/c payee cheques from ATM flummoxes bank, cops

Two thieves stole around 30 cheques from an ATM dropbox last week, flummoxing bank officials and the police about their motive.

CCTV footage shows two men in their late 20s entering a Kotak Mahindra Bank ATM at South End Road, Basavanagudi, and stealing 25-30 account payee cheques by breaking open the dropbox, between 7.30 am and 8 am on February 9. The cheques had been deposited by customers for encashment.

The theft came to light when a security guard named Hussain Ahmed reported for work later that morning. He reported the matter to his senior officer. The bank assigned one of its employees, Jijesh Jayarajan (37) to investigate the theft. But the investigation soon reached a dead end as the cheques were neither deposited in any bank nor was there any clue that they had been disposed of. Jayarajan later filed a complaint with the Basavanagudi police.

A police officer said that since the cheques were account-payee, the thieves would have no use for them. “We are equally perplexed about the motive behind the crime,” the officer added.

In another incident, thieves unsuccessfully tried to break into a bank’s strongroom and steal money. The thieves entered the Punjab National Bank located at 24th Main, Banashankari 2nd Stage, by cutting the ventilator grille. They then tried to break the strongroom and the lockers but did not succeed.

Annu Singh (35), a senior manager at the bank, said in a police complaint that the break-in occurred after she had locked the premises around 8 pm on February 11. She learnt about the crime after reporting for work at 9.40 am the next day. While she told the police that no cash or valuables were stolen, she urged them to find the culprits and prosecute them.

Police have opened cases of theft by dwelling into a house and trespassing.