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SIT for ATM thefts set up in Pimpri-Chinchwad; bank officials asked to increase security
The SIT will be looking into similar thefts that have occurred in the past months, according to Ramnath Pokale, additional commissioner of police, Pimpri-Chinchwad police
After the recent incident of an ATM theft in Chakan, a special investigation team (SIT) has been formulated by Sandeep Bishnoi, commissioner of Pimpri-Chinchwad police to investigate the cases in the region. Additionally, the commissioner had also called multiple bank representatives to urge them to strengthen security at banks and ATMs.
The team was formed in the light of a theft at an ATM in Chakan where the entire ATM was uprooted using a Mahindra Scorpio SUV. The incident was reported in the early hours of Sunday when ATM worth Rs 3,50,000 and cash worth Rs 9,72,300 was stolen by three person. A case under Sections 379 (punishment for theft) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at Chakan police station.
The SIT will be looking into similar thefts that have occurred in the past months, according to Ramnath Pokale, additional commissioner of police, Pimpri-Chinchwad police.
“There are two modus operandi - gas-cutting and pulling with a vehicle. What the SIT will basically check is whereabouts of the people accused in earlier cases in the region,” said CP Bishnoi.
The team is led by senior police inspector Uttam Tangade of Pimpri-Chinchwad police crime branch and includes three police sub-inspectors and eight constable and hawaldar-level officers, according to additional CP Ramnath Pokale.
”There are various gangs from Rajasthan, Haryana and Maharashtra as well that are found involved,” said Additional CP Pokale.
A similar case was reported from Yavat area under Pune rural police jursidiction in June. Men in an SUV had arrived at a SBI ATM and uprooted it completely before fleeing with cash worth Rs 30,00,000 in it.
While that case was in a different jurisdiction, there are a total of 17 cases of ATM thefts recorded in Pimpri-Chinchwad police jurisdiction since its formation in August 2018. In 2018, there were three cases recorded while 2019 saw 13 cases. Of the 13 cases in 2013, three were attempted thefts and the accused were arrested in the act.
In the Chakan case, three men with covered faces had arrived in the Scorpio with a broken number plate which was found to be a bogus number. As they uprooted the ATM, no alarm was triggered and there was no security guard present at the spot.
CP Bishnoi had called a meeting with the officials of various banks in Pimpri-Chinchwad to discuss better security measures. The bank representatives were asked to urge their managers to invest more effort in strengthening the outsourced security and alert system.
Most of the suggestions made by the police were included in the findings of the 2016 committee on currency movement (CCM) constituted by the Reserve Bank of India which were stated in an RBI circular dated June 14, 2019.
“All ATMs shall be grouted to a structure (wall, pillar, floor, etc.) by September 30, 2019, except for ATMs installed in highly secured premises such as airports, which have adequate CCTV coverage and are guarded by state/central security personnel,” one of the recommendations read. Even if not immediately, the banks will face action if the security measures are not put in place.
