In a brazen robbery bid, a gang of three masked thieves stole an automated teller machine (ATM) in Karnataka’s Belagavi and used a handcart to transport it—only to abandon it 250 metres away after they failed to break it open.
According to the police, the incident occurred at around 3 am on December 2. The target? The India1 ATM next to National Highway 48.
According to a police officer, three masked thieves arrived at the scene with a gas cutter. Due to ongoing service road construction work that prevented vehicle access, they brought a handcart and positioned it in front of the ATM.
The gang first entered the kiosk and sprayed black paint on the alarm sensors to disable them, the police said. After confirming that the alarm was deactivated, the accused used the gas cutter to open the box containing the ATM.
The thieves then loaded the machine onto the handcart and pushed it approximately 200 metres away, to where their vehicle was parked, the police said. They transferred the ATM into the vehicle, returned the handcart, and fled the scene.
The ATM was worth Rs 2 lakh and contained Rs 1.9 lakh in cash. However, unable to break open the machine, the thieves dumped it 250 metres away from the scene of crime.
The Kakati police station has registered a case and launched a search for the accused.
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“Prior to the heist, one person checked the ATM. It was around 700 kg. Using the handcart may not have been in their initial plan, but they used it to transport the machine,” a police officer said.
“Though the incident took place around 3 am, we got to know from the public around 9.30 am. Later, we had to inform India1 over the phone. They arrived after two hours. When the CCTV camera was sprayed with black paint, they should have gotten the intimation and alerted the police. Despite all the alarm sensors being disabled, the officials did not react because the security measures were not in place,” the officer added.
The ATM was set to be shifted due to the ongoing service road construction, the police said.
Asked how they managed to track the ATM, a police officer said the dog squad was deployed, and wooden pieces from the cart that had fallen near the kiosk led investigators to the abandoned machine.