Around Rs 10 lakh was looted from an ATM of Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Robbers broke the money chest of the machine located in Ambalathinkara.
The incident was noticed by bank officials who had arrived at the spot to fill money in the machine.
Officers found that the front portion of the machine was open and immediately informed the police.
It was determined that an amount of Rs 10,18,500 has been robbed from the ATM.
Police said that the ATM in this particular area was not frequently used and that it rarely gets crowded, which might have made it easier for the robbers.
“The last transaction was made in the ATM around 1.10am on Friday, in which someone withdrew Rs 500. The ATM was visited by the beat patrolling cops at 2.15 am. So we suspect that the crime occurred sometime after that. The shop room, in which the ATM was setup, had a shutter. The robbers might have pulled down the shutter while committing the crime and left it that way while leaving. That probably explains why the ATM did not record any other transactions later in the day,” The Times of India quotes city police commissioner Sparjan Kumar as saying.
He also said that gas cutters and crow bars were used by robbers to break the money chest.
Among the two cameras installed inside the ATM counter, one was not working and police will get visuals from the other one.
Fingerprint experts and forensic department have collected the evidences from the spot.
Thiruvananthapuram has witnessed a few ATM robberies in the recent past.
Last month, a similar ATM robbery had taken place in Chengannur of Pathanamthitta where Rs 4 lakh was looted through a similar modus operandi.
In August 2016, three foreigners looted about Rs 4 lakh after collecting card details from customers.