Thieves target ATM in Mohali district, make off with Rs 9 lakh

Tribune News Service

Mohali, July 19

Two unidentified thieves broke into an ATM kiosk of Punjab National Bank at Gharuan village in Mohali district and made off with Rs9 lakh in the wee hours of today.

There was no security guard at the kiosk. The thieves used a gas cutter to break open the ATM. There is a government hospital, a few shops and a densely populated residential area near the ATM. However, the thieves managed to execute the theft and no one heard the sound of the gas cutter.

Kharar DSP Pal Singh and Gharuan police station SHO Kailash Bahadur visited the spot. Sources said two thieves arrived in a Chevrolet Cruze car and as they reached outside the kiosk, stray dogs started barking. The thieves made the dogs unconscious before entering the kiosk. They smashed the CCTV camera installed outside the kiosk, cut open the shutter and the ATM and decamped with Rs9 lakh. A case has been registered under Sections 380 (theft in dwelling house), 457 (house breaking by night in order to commit offence), 427 and 34 of the IPC at the Gharuan police station.

Mohali SP (Rural) Ravjot Kaur Grewal said the police were investigating the case and the footage of CCTV cameras was being checked.