A group of thieves stole the cash box from an ATM (automated teller machine) in Adilabad town of Telangana on Thursday night. CCTV footage from the State Bank of India (SBI) ATM showed a man tugging at the machine with a rope, detaching it and taking it out before leaving the location. While the amount of money present in the cash box is yet to be ascertained, police said that the bank authorities estimated that there might have been around Rs 20 to 25 lakh in the cash box at the time of theft.
According to Adilabad Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Venkateshwar Rao, CCTV footage from the surroundings revealed that four men travelling in a Tavera SUV on Thursday night, seemingly attempted to rob a jewelry shop nearby. They seemed to have planned to attempt a theft in a jewelry shop in Devichand Chowk, but left after noticing heavy police presence, authorities said. “Around 3 30 am, they went to the ATM near Collector Chowk. One man was seen in the CCTV footage, pulling the machine with a rope,” the DySP said.
The culprits then stopped at an isolated location nearby, where they broke open the machine and left with the cash box, leaving the remnants of the machine behind, police said, adding that it is unclear how many people were involved in the theft.
A case has been registered at the Adilabad II Town police station against unknown offenders, under sections 457 (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night in order to commit offence punishable with imprisonment) and 380 (theft in dwelling house) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Section 3 of The Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 (mischief causing damage to public property).
In a similar incident that occurred last year in Sangareddy district, six men stole an ATM late at night, but abandoned the machine around 3 km away after failing to break it open and retrieve the cash.
Watch: Thieves tie rope to ATM, tug it away in Telangana
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