ATM theft detected after 2 days in Nalagarh

Tribune News Service

Solan, June 3

Cash worth Rs 8.36 lakh was stolen from an ATM of UCO Bank from New Nalagarh area on Saturday night. The miscreants managed to uproot the ATM and vanished with the machine.

SP Baddi Rohit Malpani said the incident was reported by the bank officials this afternoon, following which they have launched probe.

Preliminary investigations reveal that a youth, who concealed his identity by wearing a monkey cap, broke the lock of the shutter and entered the ATM room, where he damaged the CCTV camera installed inside at 1:17 am on Saturday evening. An inter-state gang, which had carried out a similar ATM theft incident at Parwanoo and also in Baddi police district in April as well as in Ropar district of Punjab, has been identified as the culprit behind this incident, due to its similar modus operandi. Vehicles including cranes were used to carry the ATM in such thefts in the past though the police were yet to identify the vehicle used in this incident.

The ATM was installed by a private company AGS and no security staff had been deployed for its security. The utter carelessness of the bank as well as the company came to the fore, as the theft was detected after a delay of two days. This made it difficult for the police to gather instant clues.

The police are examining the CCTV footage of all roads leading to the New Nalagarh area, but it was still uncertain as to how many people were involved in the incident. Though the police claim to have installed several CCTV cameras in this region, it remains to be seen whether they would provide useful clues or not.

A case under Sections 457 and 380 of the IPC was registered and further investigations were underway.