Madhya Pradesh: Thieves break 2 ATMs, make off with lakhs of rupees in Gwalior

Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh): Thieves targeted three ATMs – two in Gwalior and one in Morena – in the early hours of Wednesday and made off with lakhs of rupees, the police said.

In the first incident, the thieves broke open two ATMs in Gwalior district. One is near Shabdpratap Ashram under Bahodapur police station and another is at MH Square in Murar area in Gwalior, the police said.

The thieves used a gas cutter to break the ATMS. According to reports, they escaped with more than Rs 50 lakh.

In another incident, some unidentified thieves broke open an SBI ATM in the Jiwajiganj area in Morena and escaped with Rs 14 lakh, the police said.

A case was registered against the unidentified thieves.

The police are leafing through the CCTV footage to track down the culprits. The burglars blackened all the CCTV cameras with spray and used a gas cutter to open the ATM.

According to sources, the Mewati gang may have been involved in these incidents.

On getting information, additional superintendent of police, Rajesh Dandotia, rushed to the spot. The number of the vehicle by which the thieves reached the ATM was caught in the CCTV camera. When the police searched for the vehicle, they came to know that the car was registered in the name of Raghvendra Sharma, a resident in the Nohri Kalan area of Shivpuri.

The thieves used a bogus number.

On the grounds of CCTV footage, the police came to know that the vehicle passed through the toll plaza in Morena.

ATMS lack guards, alarm systems

The police held several meetings with the bank officials and advised them to take measures to protect the ATMs.

Nevertheless, the advice fell on deaf ears. There was neither any guard nor any alarm system at the ATM.

The police caught Palwal gang from Haryana, which was involved in breaking ATMs with the help of gas cutters. Several members of the gang have been arrested. The police laid their hands on the criminals with the help of CCTV footage.

According to Dandotia, two ATMs have been broken at two places in Gwalior. It was, however, not known how much money had been stolen, he said, adding that there was neither any guard nor any alarm system. The police are scanning the CCTV footage, he said.