Robbers steal ATM with ₹8 lakh cash from Gurgaon; incident caught on CCTV
GURGAON: An automated teller machine (ATM) of a bank was stolen by three masked men in the wee hours of Saturday from the Shakti Park area in Gurgaon. This is the second such within this month and third in the year.
“There were around ₹8 lakh cash in the machine and we have registered a case of theft at the Shivaji Nagar police station. The matter is being probed,” Gurgaon police PRO Ravinder Kumar said.
Police said the incident took place between 3.30 and 4 am. The three men can been seen coming of an SUV and entering the ATM booth.
The accused loaded the ATM machine, of IDBI Bank, in their car and left the spot.
The entire incident was caught on a CCTV camera of a neighbouring shop, and it is being scanned for clues, the police said. Reports of ATM thefts and attempts to loot ATMS are on the rise, particularly at places that don’t have security guards and CCTV cameras installed by the banks.
Sumit Kuhar, DCP (crime) said the police have repeatedly asked all banks to deploy guards at their ATM kiosks as large amounts of cash is present in these machines. “This is a serious matter and it will be taken up with banks as such incidents are rising,” he said.
Recently, on December 5, robbers stole the ATM machine of IDBI Bank from Lakshmi Vihar Area. There was no security guard at the kiosk for past three months.
In a similar incident on August 29, three masked men had stolen an ATM machine of the Punjab National Bank from Daulatabad village on the outskirts of Gurgaon.
The incident took place around 3am and was caught on a CCTV camera in the vicinity.
The accused had covered the CCTV camera at the ATM kiosk with paint, which made it ineffective and the absence of a security guard further made it an easy job, the police said.
Likewise on July 17, 2015, a gang of thieves made off with an ATM of HDFC bank containing ₹91,000, the police said.
On April 10, 2015, Yes Bank’s ATM cash vault which had around ₹2 lakh cash was looted in a similar manner. Both these ATMS were in areas close to the Delhi-gurgaon Expressway.