JOIN USThough there are several missing links and investigation is on, the Bharathi Nagar police suspect involvement of two security guards, Masum Akhtar Chaudhary and Bipul Bar Poojary, both in their mid-20s, in the theft.
Pandey of Modern VR Security Agency, to which the bank has outsourced the security, told the police that the two from Assam were posted at the ATM two months ago.
The suspects entered the branch office by breaking open the glass and metal shutters. They seemed to be well aware that the keys of the ATM machine cash box were kept in a pouch in the cabin of the bank staff, the police said.
They carried the cash box to the fifth floor of the building, opened the box and fled with the cash. When the guards in the first shift came to work, they saw the broken glasses and metal shutters and alerted the supervisor of the security agency.
The police suspect that the theft had taken place between 2 am and 4 am. For, at 1.30 am, ‘Cheetah’ night patrol constable Santosh and his subordinate visited the bank and had spoken to one of the guards. He signed the beat register book and left the kiosk. The police suspect the involvement of Amarjith, an employee of a private firm.
Assistant General Manager Thangavelu said: “There was a technical snag in the ATM machine and the exact amount missing is yet to be ascertained.”
“The CCTV is in a working condition. Since it is a holiday, we will be able to see the footages only by tomorrow (Tuesday),” he said.
Bank’s negligence
On November 9, the machine had developed a technical snag and the maintenance engineers had told the bank officials that the machine would function after the cable was repaired, the police said. The bankers were aware that the ATM was defunct on November 12, but yet, they had left cash in it.
Despite being aware of the three-day holiday, the staff in charge, Sabrina and Suraj, had not deposited the keys in their safe locker, leaving the keys easily accessible to the suspects. The police were not convinced by the reasons given by the senior bank officials. They said the bankers’ negligence was evident in the case.
“The suspects are sure to have boarded a train heading to north Karnataka,” the police said.