Gang breaks open ATM with gas cutters, steals cash

Gurgaon: An automated teller machine (ATM) of a private bank near Medanta hospital was looted on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday by a gang, which used gas cutters to open the machine. The accused allegedly took away cash of over Rs 16 lakh. After stealing the money, the miscreants set the Axis Bank ATM on fire.
Anand Prakash Associates, a company authorised by Hitachi Payment Service to look after the ATM, has lodged a complaint, saying, “The ATM was installed by us in plot number 1331 near the hospital in Jharsa village. On Tuesday night, some individuals cut the machine open using gas cutters and fled with cash of Rs 16,77,200.”

An FIR was registered against unidentified persons under IPC sections 457 (house/shop breaking by night), 380 (theft in dwelling house), 436 (mischief by fire) at the Sadar police station on Wednesday. “We are verifying all the facts in the case. The prime question is why the accused would set the machine on fire after stealing the money. We have sought CCTV footage of nearby areas as well as the ATM booth,” said sub-inspector Ram Niwas, the investigating officer in the case.

FIRs in several cases of ATM robberies were registered in different police stations across Gurgaon in 2018. While police busted a gang last year, they suspect that one of the several others has become active again.