Delhi ; In the past 6 months, a dozen ATMs have been uprooted and stolen in Delhi, causing a loss of over One crore rupees. Recently, two ATMs were uprooted and stolen. Senior police officers said that the mode of operation in all ATM thefts was about the same—the thieves drive a stolen SUV, spray black paint on CCTV cameras at the ATM booth, uproot the machine by tying it to their vehicle and escape with the machines and the CCTV camera footage storage device.
An analysis of the reported cases shows that while a majority of the thefts took place in February and March, before the nationwide lockdown was announced to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
“This gang consists of nearly 12-15 members, and each member has a specific task to perform in the execution and theft of ATMs. one’s job was to drive around the city during odd hours, look for unguarded ATM booths in isolated areas and conduct detailed reconnaissance before passing on the information to other gang members, who would enter Delhi only to execute the crime,” said the police officer.
Equipped with necessary tools such as gas cutters, belts or ropes, the officer said, the men would enter Delhi in their own vehicles and before heading to the selected ATM booth, they would steal an SUV. One of them would carry out the final reconnaissance to ensure there was no security guard, police or any danger lurking around.
After getting a positive sign from the leader, another man would immediately blacken the lens of the CCTV cameras with spray while the others would cut the cables to disable the security alarms, if any, tie the machine to their stolen vehicle and uproot it, said another police officer from the special cell.
“This ATM uprooting technique is new. Earlier, the thieves would cut into the machine using a gas cutter at the booth. But since a lot of currency notes would burn, the thieves devised this new way of uprooting and stealing the machine. Their earlier process was time-consuming as well. But now they hardly take four-five minutes to complete the job,” the officer added.
Senior police officers said that apart from neutralising the perpetrators of such crimes, they are also holding meetings with bank officials, asking them to take preventive measures such as strengthening the foundations of ATMs, installing hidden cameras in the ATM booths and deploying security guards with firearms.
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