Bangalore, August 3;Two unsuccessful attempts at ATM theft were reported in the City in the small hours of Saturday.
Burglars attempted to break open the ATM machine of Axis Bank in Peenya II stage in the Rajagopalnagar police limits.
Residents in the area heard a loud sound from the ATM kiosk at around 2.45 am. They then alerted the police about a person trying to break open the machine.
However, by the time police rushed to the spot, he had fled. The residents saw a middle-aged man running away holding an iron rod.
Though there was no CCTV camera installed in the kiosk, the CCTV camera installed in the ATM has recorded the theft attempt.
Sandeep Patil, DCP (North), said that the footage showed a masked man entering the kiosk at 2.40 am, armed with a long iron rod.
“He damages the screen of the machine, but panics that it might attract attention and flees. He did not try to break open the safe where the money was kept,” he said.
Patil said there were 55 ATM counters in Rajagopalnagar police limits and a constable was put on patrol duty to keep a vigil on the counters, following a slew of thefts.
Patil said the CCTV footage had recorded the constable visiting the ATM counter at 1.30 am.
The incident has occurred when the constable was patrolling other ATM c
ounters.
He said that the Axis Bank ATM counter was installed just a fortnight ago and had no security measures in place.
Another attempt of ATM theft was reported from Double Road in Wilson Garden on Saturday morning. The incident came to light when a customer went to draw money and found the machine of Indus Ind Bank damaged. The Wilson Garden police rushed to the spot.
There was no security guard at the counter when the incident occurred. Police said that though a guard was employed, he had not reported for duty for the past one week.
Also, there was no CCTV camera installed at the counter, police said.
However, the CCTV camera installed within the machine has recorded the entire act.
The miscreant entered the counter in the wee hours and hit the top portion of the machine with a huge stone. When he was unsuccessful in breaking it open, the miscreant fled.
A senior police official told Deccan Herald that the investigation into the two cases would be taken up jointly as they suspect the same man was behind both the attempts.
