News

Six weeks, six stolen ATMs in Gujarat

April 4, 2012

In the western Indian state of Gujarat, thieves have made off with at least six ATMs since February and have made an additional two failed theft attempts, said an article at indianexpress.com.

The first theft occurred on Feb. 22, when thieves stole an ATM installed along the busiest street in the city of Bhuj. That ATM held Rs 3 lakh ($5,897). Though the ATM was supposed to have been protected by guards, the night guards never showed up for work. Additionally, the ATM was not fixed to the floor but was, instead set on a table like a TV set, the article said.

In the city of Vadodara, three ATMs were lifted on consecutive days in March; a fourth attempt was made, but failed.

Most recently, the State Bank of India lost over Rs 43 lakh ($84,524) in consecutive ATM thefts on Monday and Tuesday of this week. The largest loss to date occurred in the Monday robbery, when thieves made off with an SBI ATM containing Rs 21.83 lakh ($42,911) was lifted.

In most cases, the stolen ATMs were not being watched by cameras or guards. “We have asked all the banks to embed their ATMs in the floor and deploy a security guard at each booth at least at night," Vadodara police commissioner Satish Sharma said to Indian Express. "Banks have also been asked to furnish details of locations where they plan to set up new ATMs, besides installing additional CCTV cameras and alarm systems.”

For its part, SBI has appealed to the state police chief for more active policing of ATMs. Ramesh Ranjan, chief general manager of SBI said, “There are CCTV cameras but the robbers either disconnect these or run away with that too, making it difficult for banks to keep a watch.”

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