Thieves make off with ATM, cash, CCTV from bank

Wed, Oct 28 05:48 AM

Audacious robbery: Bank loses Rs 11 lakh plus machine, no clues so far

Thieves made off with a 500-kg ATM — lock, stock and barrel — from Kasarwadi in Pune around 3 am on Tuesday, which has set back the Union Bank of India by nearly Rs 11 lakh plus the cost of the machine.

The robbery was a clean break as there are hardly any telltale signs on the floor from where it was wrenched free, nor did alarms go off. It is suspected the gang came in the garb of ATM maintenance hands and took away the booty in a truck.

While the ATM unit is worth Rs 3 lakh, it contained Rs 10.8 lakh in cash. "The theft could have been done after a lot of study. The ATM has an inbuilt alarm that goes off even if the machine is hit hard, leave alone the effort to break it open. Also, the machine is so heavy that even four-five people cannot easily lift it. I was surprised to see no marks on the floor of the ATM centre from where the machine was dragged out," said Capt Akashdeep Chauhan, manager (security), Union Bank of India.

Chauhan said the thieves might have used rollers and machines to take the unit and then might have taken it in a van or truck. "It is not humanly possible to physically lift it and lug it on the road," Chauhan said. Police Inspector (Crime) Ravi Chaudhar said, "The branch is on the first floor and open from 10.30 am to 5.30 pm, while the ATM is on the ground floor. The security guard, Niranjan Adgale, did not turn up for duty on the day. If he were there, he could have prevented the theft or at least provided police with some leads. We enquired with the security company, which provides guards at 36 ATMs in the city, but they have no record of attendance for their staff. Such is their callousness."

According to Chaudhar, bank manager Chandrashekar Kulkarni had said in his complaint that some furniture work was on in the bank on Monday and only the sweepers and carpenters were present when he left around 7.30 pm. He came to know about the incident only when the bank staff contacted him on phone on Tuesday morning.

Chaudhary said the ATM was not fixed to the floor; this could have made the job of thieves easy. Also, as the CCTV was inbuilt in the machine, the identity of thieves cannot be ascertained. "The service provider who manages ATMs also failed to alert bank officials when connectivity of the ATM centre was lost," he said.

"We are inquiring with the security agency as to why the watchman was absent. Our teams are on the trail of the gang," DCP Mahesh Patil said.

Capt Ravi Nair, manager (security) with Bank of Maharashtra said, "There are 700 ATMs in the city. The incident raises questions on our preparedness to prevent such theft. Banks outsource ATM services to third party companies that are supposed to alert the bank and security officials when connectivity of an ATM is lost. But due to power failure and road digging work, these machines get disconnected many times, so such incidents are not taken seriously."

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