PUNE: The Sinhagad Road police on Thursday are investigating a case in which unidentified men tampered with a bank’s automated teller machine (ATM) and made off with Rs2.43 lakh.
The incident came to light after the bank’s zonal office in the city discovered six suspicious transactions made from six of its ATMs, including the one at Bhadale complex on Dhayari-Narhe Road, on October 30.
Amit Kumbhar, an official from the contractual firm appointed by the bank to operate and maintain its ATMs, registered a first-information report under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act.
Inspector (crime) Prabhakar Waghmare from the Sinhagad Road police told TOI, “Unidentified men visited the ATM to withdraw money using a debit/credit card. When the machine dispensed cash, they either opened the box lock or switched off the system and turned it on instantly. The cash was dispensed, but the machine did not register the transaction.”
The suspects handled the machine in such a way that, on being tampered with, it cancels the transaction even if it is in the process of dispensing cash. “Once the cash is withdrawn, the money is not debited from the account as the transaction is shown as cancelled. The account-holder will continue to have money in his or her account even if the suspects have removed the cash from the machine.”
After these suspicious transactions came to light, the contractual firm decided to approach the police, he added.