An ATM was broken open and robbed of ₹9.74 lakh at Sawaddi Kalan village in Sidhwan Bet on Friday.
The accused used a gas gutter to cut open the ATM. The police suspect the involvement of some old Ludhiana-based gang. The Sidhwan Bet police have scanned the CCTVs installed on the road to trace the robbers.
A case was lodged on the statement of Pankaj Kumar Pandey, the manager of the State Bank of India, Sawaddi Kalan. Pandey said he came to know about the incident on Friday morning after locals alerted him. When he reached the spot he found the shutter broken open and the ATM machine damaged.
Assistant sub-inspector Daljit Singh, who is investigating the case, said the accused and their car has been captured on CCTV, although they had sprayed black paint on the shutter of the kiosk. It took atleast 20 minutes to execute the crime.
The ASI added that no security guard had been deputed at the ATM.
Similar modus operandi
The modus operandi of the miscreants was found to be the same as a gang that has previously struck ATMs in Ludhiana, Khanna and Jagraon. Cops suspect that the target ATMs in rural areas as they face less resistance. The gang is targeting ATMs that are far from the city and near the main road for a quick getaway.