Gurugram: A group of three-four miscreants allegedly barged into an unguarded automated teller machine (ATM) kiosk in Sector 10, uprooted the cash dispenser containing over ₹21 lakh, and fled with it in the early hours of Tuesday. Since the beginning of this year, this is the fourth instance of an ATM being looted in the district.
The thieves first sprayed black paint on the CCTV camera installed inside the kiosk, and then uprooted the ATM by tying one end of a strong rope with the machine and the other with their pickup car, said the police.
According to the police, the ATM belonged to a non-banking entity. The police said that there was no security guard deputed at the kiosk.
The complainant, Pawan Sharma, who has rented the ATM kiosk at Wazirpur crossing in the Sector 10 area, reported the incident to the police.
“A newspaper delivery man informed Pawan in the wee hours on Tuesday after he saw the ATM uprooted. A team from Sector 10 police station rushed to the spot and found that the machine had been stolen. The team procured CCTV footage from a camera set up in the market, in which the thieves could be seen conducting a reconnaissance of the area after 2am and entering the kiosk at 3am,” said Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime).
“Three to four men first took several rounds of the area. They took out the glass door using tools from the ATM kiosk. They then took a strong rope and tied one end with the machine and the other with a car parked outside. Their two initial attempts failed, but they kept pulling the 450-kilogram ATM through jerking movements, and after 30 minutes they were successful in uprooting the machine. Then they fled, carrying the machine in a van, which was parked at a distance,” said Sangwan.
{{/usCountry}}“Three to four men first took several rounds of the area. They took out the glass door using tools from the ATM kiosk. They then took a strong rope and tied one end with the machine and the other with a car parked outside. Their two initial attempts failed, but they kept pulling the 450-kilogram ATM through jerking movements, and after 30 minutes they were successful in uprooting the machine. Then they fled, carrying the machine in a van, which was parked at a distance,” said Sangwan.
{{/usCountry}}“About ₹21 lakh was in the machine when it was stolen,” he said, adding that an axe and a screw driver were recovered from the kiosk.
The police said the suspects are yet to be arrested. A case was registered against the unidentified men under sections 380 (theft) and 457 (house trespass) of Indian Penal Code at Sector 10A police station on Tuesday, said the police.
Recently, the city has witnessed several such cases. On February 13, at least three unidentified miscreants allegedly cut open an ATM of a private bank and stole ₹2.5 lakh at Lakhowas village in Sohna. According to the police, the incident took place around midnight.
On February 3, thieves had allegedly used a grinder machine to cut open an ATM and decamped with ₹6.42 lakh on Sohna road in Badshahpur.
On January 19, miscreants had allegedly cut open an ATM of a private bank with a gas cutter and stole ₹69,000 near Chhotu Ram Chowk at Sheetla Mata Colony in Sector 5. The suspects had sprayed some chemical on CCTV cameras inside the kiosk to avoid being identified before escaping.
On December 22, 2019, at least four thieves had allegedly cut open an ATM of a private bank with a gas cutter and stole over ₹18.39 lakh in village Kankrola near Kherki Daula.
In a related incident in Nuh last month, thieves had allegedly held hostage a security guard and uprooted an ATM. The guard was let go after four hours, the police had said.