Thieves take away ATM with Rs 32 lakh cash, get caught

A five-member gang today took away an ATM machine with Rs 32 lakh cash from an unmanned centre on a national highway but their luck was short lived as they were nabbed by an alert police patrol before they could drive away with the booty.
The five, using crowbars and other tools, had managed to dismantle the ATM attached to a branch of Punjab National Bank at Kattukottai, about 50 km from here, and loaded it into a van at around 2.30 AM, police said.
As they were preparing to leave the place, a four-member patrol team from Thalaivasal spotted the van near the bank. As they approached the vehicle, the five occupants started running, they said.

The patrol team, however, gave a chase and nabbed all the five, in their mid-20s.
Police said the gang used power cutters and wire cutters to snap the cables and all their activities were recorded on the CCTV camera installed in the ATM kiosk.
The absence of guard at the ATM, that too attached to a bank branch, has brought to focus again the lack of proper security arrangements at ATM centres, which are increasingly becoming targets of burglars.