Unidentified thieves allegedly stole an unmanned automated teller machine (ATM) containing over Rs 2 lakh cash in Farrukhnagar, in the early hours of Monday, said the police. According to police, the thieves allegedly uprooted the ATM by tying one end of a strong rope to the machine and the other end to a pickup car. They later fled, carrying the ATM in the back of the car.

According to the police, the machine was a White Label ATM, belonging to a non-bank entity. The police said no closed-circuit television camera(CCTV) had been installed in the ATM kiosk and there was no security guard deputed. The complainant, Satbir Yadav, who has rented the ATM kiosk at Birhera crossing, came to the kiosk on Monday at 6.30 am for cleaning and found that the machine had been stolen.

Yadav said that he had procured CCTV footage from a camera set up outside his brother’s restaurant across the road, in which the thieves could be seen allegedly conducting a reconnaissance of the area after 1 am and entering the kiosk at 1.35 am.

“Four to five men first took several rounds of the area. They took out the glass panel door using tools. They then took a strong rope and tied one end to the machine and the other to a car parked outside. Their initial attempts failed, but they kept pulling the 300-kilogram ATM through jerking movements and after an hour or so they were successful in uprooting the machine. Soon after, they fled, carrying the machine in the van,” said Yadav.

Yadav said that he had inserted over Rs 4 lakh into the machine after withdrawing it from a small finance bank in Pataudi on Sunday around 4.15 pm. “According to my estimate, Rs 2.13 lakh was in the machine when it was stolen,” he said, adding that gloves and an axe was recovered near the kiosk. The police, however, denied that any tools were found at the spot.

Pawan Kumar, assistant sub inspector (ASI), the investigating official confirmed that the thieves had used a strong rope to uproot the ATM, but refused to divulge any details, adding that it would hamper the investigation.

Krishan Kant, station house officer (SHO), Farruknagar police station, said , “The suspects are yet to be arrested.”A case was registered against the unidentified accused men under sections 380 and 457 of Indian Penal Code at Farrukhnagar police station on Monday, said the police.

This is the first instance this year in the city of an ATM machine being stolen. On February 22, a gangster, involved in looting ATMs in seven states, was allegedly shot dead in an encounter in Nuh.

In September 2018, the police had arrested two members of a Nuh-based gang from Manesar, who used to steal ATM machines. In September, a masked robber had allegedly blown open an ATM of a public sector bank and decamped with Rs 2.72 lakh cash in Nagina, Nuh.

First Published: Feb 27, 2019 05:21 IST