Two weeks on, cops clueless in ATM theft case

Bathinda, December 11

Two weeks have passed since a masked man stole Rs 5.50 lakh from a Punjab National Bank ATM at Pucca Kalan village in the district on November 23, but the police are still clueless about the accused.

The police had booked an unidentified person but they have failed to identify the accused till date.

On November 23 evening, around 6.10 pm, a masked man had stolen Rs 5.50 from the ATM by opening it using its code.

The ATM code is known only to a person who refills cash. In the CCTV footage, it had come out that the accused closed the ATM by lowering its shutter and took away the money easily.

Bank officials came to know about the incident on November 25 morning when the bank opened after a two-day holiday.

Immediately, they informed the Sangat police about the incident. The police reached the spot and started a probe.

The Sangat SHO said, “Police teams are working in the case, but so far we have not been able to trace the accused.”

It has also come to notice that this is not the only incidents of bank loot in which the police have failed to arrest the accused. 

On November 15, miscreants damaged a Canara Bank ATM in a bid to loot money at Talwandi Sabo.

In a complaint lodged by Manikaran, bank manager of the Talwandi Sabo branch, it has been stated that unidentified persons tried to loot money by damaging the Canara Bank ATM.

On November 8, four persons were booked for damaging an SBI ATM at Thermal Colony. Earlier this year, two persons damaged a Punjab National Bank ATM in an attempt to loot money at GT Road near Ganesha Basti around 2 am. The incident was captured in CCTV cameras.

In these incidents too, the police have failed to nab the accused.

It is pertinent to mention that despite a rise in the incidents of ATM thefts and robberies, officials of various banks have not bothered to deploy security guards outside many ATMs. — TNS