A gang, suspected to be from exterior Tamil Nadu, lower open 4 ATMs in Tiruvannamalai district and decamped with greater than ₹70 lakh in money on Sunday evening, police mentioned on Monday.
Through the preliminary investigation, police discovered that the gang is from the identical area as one other group of burglars concerned in concentrating on ATMs to loot cash throughout June and July, 2021 in Chennai, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Puducherry and different districts, a police official within the know of the matter mentioned.
“We’ve acquired clues and scientific proof. The suspects on this crime have sound technical information,” mentioned inspector basic for north zone N Kannan, who’s tenting in Tiruvannamalai district because the incident occurred. “They knew of the vulnerabilities in varied machines. All 4 ATMs that had been lower open had been the identical kind of machines,” he added.
The crime reportedly occurred round 2am on Sunday. After police patrolling staff discovered an ATM broken at round 2am, one other ATM simply 500m away was additionally discovered broken. Each machines are in Tiruvannamalai city limits, police mentioned.
“The third ATM is 25km away from city whereas the fourth one is one other 10km away from there. It’s estimated that the crime spanned two hours. Three ATMs are that of the State Financial institution of India (SBI) and had CCTV cameras put in whereas the fourth one is of India One,” police mentioned.
On Monday, Tamil Nadu DGP Sylendra Babu held a gathering with senior financial institution officers and safety officers. The DGP instructed them to put in hidden cameras, facial recognition programs and alarm bells to stop such crimes in future.
Police have recognized the variety of individuals concerned and the automobile used to commit the crime however consider it’s untimely to elaborate on their investigation. “The suspects operated in a gaggle to focus on one ATM after one other. They used gas-welding machine to chop open the ATMs,” mentioned police.
“This group is utilizing this technique for the primary time in Tamil Nadu,” mentioned Kannan. “This isn’t the identical group from the 2021 case however they belong to the identical area. The tactic this gang used is completely different. The investigations are being headed by DIG Vellore S Muthusamy. 9 particular groups have been shaped which embody 5 superintendents of police,” police added.
“The crime occurred at 4 ATMs and the federal government is taking this significantly. In different instances, investigation officers are often SIs or inspectors however given the significance of this case, a DSP has been assigned. Our groups have camped exterior of Tamil Nadu. We hope to get a fruitful consequence,” police mentioned.