Patrol police foil ATM robbery bid in Tirupattur

An alert police patrol team foiled an attempt to rob the unmanned ATM of the private bank (India One bank) at Vellakuttai village near Vaniyambadi town in Tirupattur in the early hours on March 22, 2023.

An alert police patrol team foiled an attempt to rob the unmanned ATM of the private bank (India One bank) at Vellakuttai village near Vaniyambadi town in Tirupattur in the early hours on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.

A police team comprising S. Ramdoss, sub-inspector, and V. Govindaswamy, constable, of Alangayam police were on their night rounds in a bike when they heard noise of breaking a locker at the ATM in the village. Immediately, they stopped the vehicle and rushed to the facility.

After seeing the policemen, the man, who is said to be in his early 30s, dropped his crowbar inside the ATM and fled the spot. The incident happened around 1 a.m. on Wednesday.

The police personnel then alerted senior officers at the district police headquarters and bank officials, who rushed to the spot. Along with bank officials, police found that the existing single CCTV camera and the lock inside the ATM cabin were damaged.

However, the ATM cash locker remained intact and the cash was not stolen. A total of ₹4.25 lakh cash was present in the machine at the time of the incident. Police said bank officials refilled the ATM on Tuesday evening with an additional cash of ₹3 lakh to the existing cash of ₹1.25 lakh, bringing the total cash in the ATM to ₹4.25 lakh.

Initial inquiry revealed that the private ATM has been operating in the village for the past three years. The ATM was the lone facility on the main road of the village. The facility does not have additional CCTV cameras on the outside of its premises and no security guards were also deployed by the bank at the ATM despite advice given for such safety measures given by the district police after a series of ATM heists in Tiruvannamalai on February 12.