Tiruvannamalai: Burglars broke open Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvannamalai and decamped with Rs 75 lakhs in the early hours of Sunday, the police said. Out of the four ATMs, three belong to the State Bank of India (SBI) located near Mari Amman temple, Thenimalai area, Polur Bus stand and one belongs to One India located in the Kalasappakkam area.
Later, ATMs and CCTV cameras were set on fire by the robbers so that the police could not trace their fingerprints and video recording of the burglary. They broke open the ATMs at four places and looted the money and then set the ATM machines on fire. Similarly, the CCTV cameras and hard disks in the ATM centres were burnt.
On receiving the information, the police reached the spots and started an investigation. Under the supervision of North Zone Police IG Kannan, six separate teams, including three police superintendents, have been formed and the police department has been actively investigating the matter with the help of the CCTV footage.
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In addition, Northern Zone Police IG Kannan inspected the ATM centres where the robbery took place. Speaking to the media, Kannan said, "We launched a man-hunt to nab the ATM robbers. The burglars came in a group and looted the cash. Five special forces have been formed in the Tiruvannamalai district alone."
"The police department of the outer district is also investigating the robbery. Another force headed by a Superintendent of Police had gone to other states. Moreover, if they found that the police department had failed in patrolling, departmental action will be taken against those who are on patrolling duty on that day. Such incidents of robbery have taken place in various states, including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The police already started a probe and the robbers will be arrested soon," Kannan said.
