An unidentified gang made a futile bid to steal cash from a State Bank of India (SBI) ATM, near Kaithamukku, during the early hours on Tuesday.
The incident came to light when a few shopkeepers nearby found the ATM machine at Punnapuram to be damaged and moved from its position. Upon inspection, the police confirmed that the machine had been tampered with. The power cables to two surveillance cameras, which were installed within the kiosk, were also found to have been cut.
However, no cash has been stolen with the burglars making a failed bid at breaking open the cash box, according to Vanchiyoor sub-inspector G.P. Saju Kumar. The officer added that the cameras’ footage, along with those captured by the CCTV cameras installed nearby, would soon be examined. As is the case in many such facilities in the city, the ATM kiosk was unguarded. A forensic team recorded fingerprints and other evidence from the spot.
Official sources said the kiosk could not be perceived to be vulnerable to such attempts with frequent movement of vehicles along the Punnapuram road and due to the presence of adequate lighting facilities. Deputy Commissioner of Police G. Jaidev said the burglary attempt was suspected to have taken place between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m., a short while after which a patrol team passed by the area. A special team led by the Vanchiyoor sub-inspector has been constituted to probe the case, he said.
He added that efforts were under way to establish similarities, if any, among the particular case and another failed burglary attempt at an ATM in Muttathara that had taken place on October 17.
It was only six months ago that over ₹10 lakh was stolen from an SBI ATM at Ambalathinkara, near Karyavattom. With the investigating team finding similarities in the incident with similar cases that were reported in Chengannur and other parts of Alappuzha, a joint team had been constituted for the probe. While the team managed to arrest one person from New Delhi in connection with the case, further efforts to nab his accomplices had reached a dead-end after they trailed them to Haryana. The inter-State racket, which allegedly involved a police personnel of the Delhi police, had been known to have orchestrated numerous ATM burglaries across the country.