Thieves tow away ATM with Rs 11 lakh cash

In a copycat case of the recent Bagalur ATM theft, four unidentified men towed away an automated teller machine from a kiosk at Iblur, off Hosur Road, early Wednesday morning. It contained Rs 11 lakh in cash, police said.

The incident came to light when a software professional visited the Bank of Maharashtra ATM near Anekal-Chandapura Circle and found the unmanned kiosk empty. Suspecting something amiss, he alerted the officers at the Chandapura police outpost near Surya City.

According to Hebbagodi police, who are investigating the case, the thieves had futilely tried to smash the CCTV camera at the counter. The entire act has been caught on camera, but since all of the men were wearing masks, establishing their identity has been difficult, they said.

No security guard

D Prakash, Superintendent of Police, Bangalore Rural, told Deccan Herald the kiosk had no security guard and the ATM was not fixed to the ground. The thieves have been caught on camera snapping off cables, fastening the machine with a belt and dragging it from the counter and hoisting it onto a Tata Sumo car, he said.

‘Ten men involved’

The same set of thieves, police believe, had taken away a movable cash-vending machine at Bagalur, also in a Sumo car, just a week ago. It contained Rs 24 lakh.

A senior police officer told this newspaper that at least ten men were involved in the uncracked Bagalur case. He suspected a gang from outside the State behind both cases, apart from a slew of theft attempts at ATM counters in the past ten days.