A gang, suspected to be from outside Tamil Nadu, cut open four ATMs in Tiruvannamalai district and decamped with more than ₹70 lakh in cash on Sunday night, police said on Monday.
During the preliminary investigation, police found that the gang is from the same region as another group of burglars involved in targeting ATMs to loot money during June and July, 2021 in Chennai, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Puducherry and other districts, a police official in the know of the matter said.
“We have received clues and scientific evidence. The suspects in this crime have sound technical knowledge,” said inspector general for north zone N Kannan, who is camping in Tiruvannamalai district since the incident took place. “They knew of the vulnerabilities in various machines. All four ATMs that were cut open were the same type of machines,” he added.
The crime reportedly took place around 2am on Sunday. After police patrolling team found an ATM damaged at around 2am, another ATM just 500m away was also found damaged. Both machines are in Tiruvannamalai town limits, police said.
“The third ATM is 25km away from town while the fourth one is another 10km away from there. It is estimated that the crime spanned two hours. Three ATMs are that of the State Bank of India (SBI) and had CCTV cameras installed while the fourth one is of India One,” police said.
On Monday, Tamil Nadu DGP Sylendra Babu held a meeting with senior bank officials and security officers. The DGP instructed them to install hidden cameras, facial recognition systems and alarm bells to prevent such crimes in future.
Police have identified the number of people involved and the vehicle used to commit the crime but believe it is premature to elaborate on their investigation. “The suspects operated in a group to target one ATM after another. They used gas-welding machine to cut open the ATMs,” said police.
“This group is using this method for the first time in Tamil Nadu,” said Kannan. “This is not the same group from the 2021 case but they belong to the same region. The method this gang used is different. The investigations are being headed by DIG Vellore S Muthusamy. Nine special teams have been formed which include five superintendents of police,” police added.
“The crime took place at four ATMs and the government is taking this seriously. In other cases, investigation officers are usually SIs or inspectors but given the importance of this case, a DSP has been assigned. Our teams have camped outside of Tamil Nadu. We hope to get a fruitful outcome,” police said.
