Bengaluru: A surprising twist has come up in the case of a private bank ATM theft on Sarjapura Road in Dodda Kannahalli. Masked thieves used a gas cutter to break into the ATM and steal 16.50 lakhs. However, the case took an unexpected turn when the Bellandur police arrested five employees from the company responsible for refilling the ATM.
The accused individuals, identified as Secure Value India Limited Company Field Operations Manager Pratap (32), ATM Officer Pawan Kalyan (28), ATM Incharge Dharmendra (52), Madiwala Area Branch Head Raghavendra (36), and Assistant Manager Mahesh (30) were apprehended by the authorities. An amount totalling 13.50 lakhs was confiscated from them.
The incident unfolded on July 1st when attempts to fill money into the Axis Bank’s Sarjapur Road ATMs were unsuccessful due to technical faults. However, instead of reporting these issues to the bank, it was discovered that they returned later and looted money from the compromised machine using a gas cutter.
Following an investigation launched by law enforcement officials, footage from security cameras at the ATM center revealed two individuals with their faces concealed entering and tampering with surveillance equipment before proceeding to use a gas cutter to access the cash inside.
Upon further scrutiny, it was found that only Rs 6,800 remained in the targeted ATM machine after being robbed. Subsequently, it came to light that nearly Rs 16.50 lakh had not been loaded into this particular machine as reported.
Senior police officials indicated that during investigations it became apparent that these employees capitalized on their knowledge of previous robbery events involving this particular ATM location and subsequently embezzled funds while providing false information about loading money into said machines.
Furthermore, another complaint has been lodged against representatives of the management company for filing an erroneous report regarding this incident while efforts continue to identify those directly responsible for carrying out thefts using gas cutters at ATMs across Bengaluru.
City Police Commissioner B. Dayanand acknowledged ongoing inquiries by law enforcement authorities following these significant developments in this complex case.