Five Burglars Loot Rs 29.69 Lakh From ATM and Escape Within Four Minutes

Hyderabad: A five-member gang allegedly broke into an automated teller machine (ATM) at Ravirala in Adibatla and escaped with Rs 29.69 lakh, all within four minutes, from around 2.13 am on Saturday.

According to Adibatla inspector S. Raghavender Reddy, the five are yet to be identified. The burglary came to light when the robbers triggered the alarm while cutting open the machine and unloaded cash worth Rs 29,69,900.

According to a complaint filed by SBI-Ravirala deputy manager Korra Sreevani, she received an alert at 2.13 am regarding unauthorised access to the ATM.

“I immediately rushed to the spot and found that the ATM was cut open with a gas cutter and all the money in the machine was gone,” she said in her complaint.

Following this, a case was registered with the Adibatla police under sections 331(4) and 305 of BNS.

The inspector added, "We have collected CCTV footage and forensic evidence from the scene. The way the ATM was cut indicates the involvement of a well-organised gang."

According to Ibrahimpatnam ACP K.P.V. Raju, “They were very professional and had struck after surveillance of the ATM kiosk and the city. The car they came in had five people, with one of them in the driver’s seat. Two stepped inside and immediately after they touched the machine, the alarm was set off.”

The ACP said the vehicle was last spotted in Aaramgarh. After committing the burglary, they headed towards Mailardevpally and stopped at Meerpet for a couple of minutes to fill petrol in the car, for which they paid Rs 3,000.

A Rachakonda police official, who did not wish to be named, told Deccan Chronicle that they suspect that the accused were from Haryana.

“We are collaborating with the Bangalore police too as a similar burglary was reported there a couple of days ago. We suspect this to be the same gang,” the official said.

On whether the burglars were armed, the police said that they did not find any in the footage that they had recovered.