Thieves uproot ATM containing ₹16 lakh in Lalru

Uproot machine by pulling it with a rope tied to a jeep

Some unidentified masked men on Wednesday decamped with an automated teller machine (ATM) containing over ₹16 lakh from a Punjab National Bank kiosk in Lalru on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway here.

The Punjab National Bank kiosk from where an ATM was uprooted, in Lalru, Mohali, in wee hours of Wednesday. (HT Photo)

Lalru station house officer Gurcharan Singh said at 2.15am on Wednesday, four persons came in a Mahindra pickup jeep and broke open the shutter of the ATM kiosk. Then, two of them got down and with the help of a rope, tied the ATM machine and with the help of the jeep, uprooted the machine, the SHO added.

Before uprooting the machine, the thieves damaged the CCTV cameras installed in the kiosk, police said. At the time of the incident, no guard was present there. “We are trying to check the footage of the CCTV cameras installed nearby. We are hoping to nab the accused soon,” said the SHO.

A case under Sections 380 (theft in dwelling house) and 457 (house breaking by night in order to commit offence) and 427 (mischief causing damage) and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code at the Lalru police station.

Locals said that the sirens went on but the police did not reach the site on time. The police said they were alerted by the Maharashtra headquarters of the bank.