Up to Rs 70 lakh was looted from four ATMs in Thiruvannamalai district at the same time.
“This robbery has taken place targeting some specific ATM machines. It has been carried out by a group of people from outside the state,” said Northern Zone IG Kannan.
ATMs in four different areas were robbed simultaneously in Tiruvannamalai district this morning. In this regard, 5 separate teams have been set up to investigate in Thiruvannamalai district, and 3 more teams have been formed due to the involvement of outsiders.
The theft took place in four ATM centers namely State Bank of India ATM Bank branch at Mariyamman Kovil Street, Manalur Pettai Road, Thiruvannamalai District, State Bank of India Branch located at Thenimalai, SBI ATM Bank located near Polur Bus Stand and One India ATM Bank located near Kalasapakkam Government Boys High School. This robbery has taken place.
70 lakh robbery
North Zone IG Kannan said that the machines of 4 ATM centers were broken and looted up to 70 lakh rupees.
Kannan, IG of Police
4 ATM machines were burnt and damaged due to attempted robbery using gas welding. Especially since the bank ATMs that were stolen early this morning came out with black smoke, it was revealed that the ATM robbery took place only after the public informed the police about this.
It is also said that the place where the theft took place is a high traffic area.
Kalasapakkam One India Bank branch is located at a distance of 30 km from Tiruvannamalai. Similarly Polur SBI Bank ATM is 40 km away.
At this stage, they are also investigating whether a single person was involved in this incident or whether this incident took place through various groups. Similarly, the footage from the CCTV cameras in the looted areas is being scrutinized and an investigation is underway accordingly.
A special team has been set up under the leadership of Thiruvannamalai District Superintendent of Police Karthikeyan in connection with this robbery incident.
In this context, there is a suspicion that the people who staged this robbery may be from outside the state, and a special team led by the Superintendent of Police has gone to Andhra Pradesh and Bangalore.
Study of technical traces
Tamil Nadu North Zone IG Kannan investigated the robbery incident and told the media, “There was a robbery at four ATMs in Thiruvannamalai district yesterday morning. They targeted some ATMs.
And they stole it using a welding machine. The investigation is currently at an early stage. Technically we got some data. We are investigating this based on that.
It is not possible to say with certainty how many people are involved. But it has been revealed that this theft was done by a group.
5 special teams have been formed to investigate this case in Tiruvannamalai district. And the people involved in this are not local people but outsiders. Three separate forces have been formed in this regard. “Especially those outsiders are from outside the state,” he says.
We are investigating what the security vulnerabilities are. Further, Kannan has said that he has targeted some specific places like this.
“Especially those involved in this theft may have involved a mechanic who was well-versed in the internal systems and workings of these ATM machines. A total of Rs 70 lakh was looted from all the four ATM machines.
Similarly, Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh have been following this pattern of theft.
We successfully detected the ATM robbery in Chennai last year. Two cases were registered in Tiruvannamalai. But the ATM robbery in Chennai was handled differently, the robbery here is completely different. But these two have some relation. We are investigating it.
Also some data is available through CCTV cameras. We have conducted an investigation with them. It’s still in the early stages so we can’t say right now if anyone else is involved. It will be known at the end of the investigation,” North Zone IG Kannan said.
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