Gang steals Rs 12 lakh from unmanned ATM in Sector 37

Gurgaon: An unmanned automated teller machine (ATM) of Central Bank of India was cut open by burglars and Rs 12 lakh was stolen on Saturday night in Sector 37.
Police said the crime took place between 11pm and 4am. Locals spotted the damaged ATM on Sunday morning and informed the police, who reached the spot along with fingerprint experts, dog squad and a forensic team.

The ATM was refilled with cash on Friday afternoon and till Saturday midnight around 100 transactions were done, police said. Around Rs 12 lakh was inside the machine at the time of incident. However, bank officials have not given the police any document, stating the cash status of the machine so far.

“The ATM booth has a CCTV camera but it is not clear whether it was functional or not. We have asked bank officials to submit the footage and have also issued a notice to them for not keeping a guard at the ATM booth,” said an officer.

“It seems to be the work of a gang from Mewat. As there are no CCTV cameras installed in the area, we are dependent on the footage captured inside the booth. The gang used gas cutters to open the machine from the rear end and steal the cash. Teams, including crime branch officials, are investigating the case,” ACP Shakuntala Yadav said.

Police suspect the role of Shahid alias Advani, a notorious criminal, in this theft as his gang targets unmanned ATMs in the city. Advani is in Gurgaon police’s list of most wanted criminals and carries a reward of Rs 1 lakh.

“The modus operandi used to rob the ATM in Sector 37 is similar to Advani gang and it possible that some of his associates might have executed the theft,” said a police officer adding that at present Advani is out of Haryana and it is possible that it might have been done on his direction.