Sagar Gadigaonkar, a resident of Virar and former employee of CMS Logistics, has been booked for allegedly robbing nearly ₹10.92 lakh from an out-of-order ATM of Development Credit Bank (DCB) in at Fatherwadi, Vasai (East) on Saturday morning.
“We searched Gadigaonkar’s flat in Virar and found ₹10.70 lakh. The accused is absconding, and we have charged him under sections 380 (theft), 454 and 457 (trespass) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),” said Vilas Chowgule, senior inspector, Waliv police station.
Prior to losing his job with the logistics company, Gadigaonkar used to load the money into the ATMs and knew the password of the DCB centre, said Chowgule. Due to the lockdown and unemployment, Gadigaonkar decided to loot the ATM centre.
The faulty ATM was to be replaced on Saturday by the logistics company. The matter came to light when staffers of the logistics company reached the ATM to take custody of the money but found that the machine had been opened and the cash stolen.
The CCTV cameras installed inside the ATM kiosk had stopped working two days before the theft and were taken for repairs. “The thief knew about the development, and hence we suspected it was an inside job,” said Chowgule.
{{/usCountry}}The CCTV cameras installed inside the ATM kiosk had stopped working two days before the theft and were taken for repairs. “The thief knew about the development, and hence we suspected it was an inside job,” said Chowgule.
{{/usCountry}}The ATM had not been working for two weeks and Ajay Gaikwad, area manager of CMS Logistics, who reached the spot, said that his technical team was supposed to remove the money and replace it. He said there was around ₹11 lakh in the machine at the time of the theft.
“As the ATM centre was closed, we suspected that the thief may have entered the kiosk disguised as a technical staffer,” said Chowgule, adding that police are now on the lookout for Gadigaonkar.