Police analysing CCTV footage

In a daring heist, three masked robbers allegedly cut open two Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) of ICICI Bank at Taranagar under Chandanagar police area in the early hours of Friday and decamped with ₹10 lakh cash.

After verifying the footages of the surveillance camera at the ATM centre, Madhapur Deputy Commissioner of Police A Venkateshwara Rao said that the suspects entered the centre at around 3.45 a.m. and decamped with the cash by 4.15 a.m.

“They cut open the machines with a gas cutter,” he said, adding that it was an unmanned ATM centre.

According to Mr Rao, the robbery was reported only at 4 p.m. on Friday after a sweeper lifted the half-closed shutter for cleaning and found the vaults of the machines cut open and the cash missing.

“Soon, the sweeper alerted the bank staff, who in turn lodged a complaint with the Chandanagar police and a case was registered,” he said.

The police are also questioning the bank staff on when the machines were last reloaded and how much cash was missing. “The bank staff told us that around ₹10 lakh cash was missing from the centre. However, we are yet to verify the exact figure,” the officer said.

Mr Rao said the police were analysing the CCTV footages in the area to identify the suspects and teams were formed to nab them.

Meanwhile, an unidentified man suspected to be in an inebriated condition unsuccessfully tried to break two ATMs under Saifabad police station limits. Inspector S Venkat Reddy said that around 12.50 a.m. on Thursday, the suspect unsuccessfully tried to break ATMs of a public sector and a private bank in the area.