Unidentified people uprooted an ATM located near the Nawada metro station and fled away with it in the early hours of Tuesday, police said. The machine contained Rs 29 lakh in cash.

According to Anto Alphonse, deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka), this particular ATM booth was shut between 9 pm and 9 am everyday.

“Every evening, the shutters are downed, but a security guard keeps a watch over the booth,” said the DCP.

“But on Tuesday we found that the shutter of the ATM booth was left open and the guard was not present. We are investigating the role of the guard and some other suspects,” said the DCP.

The crime came to light on Tuesday morning when the bank officials found the window panes of the booth shattered, said the officer. When they checked, they found an ATM missing. Another ATM in the same booth was spared, said the DCP.

“The robbers had used some sort of spray to deface the CCTV cameras, but one camera on the inside was untouched. That has given us certain clues,” said the officer, adding that the footage suggested that the crime happened sometime around 12.30 am on Tuesday.

A case of theft has been registered at Uttam Nagar police station.

The DCP said that in October, an advisory had been issued for “concretising” the ATMs in the Dwarka region. “The ATMs need to be fixed firmly to the ground to prevent its uprooting. In this case, it appears that was not done,” said the DCP.

First Published: Mar 20, 2019 05:13 IST