Gurugram: Same ATM Gets Stolen Twice In 10 days; Police Commissioner Orders Enquiry

The Police Commissioner of Gurugram has ordered a departmental enquiry against the Badshahpur Station House Officer (SHO) Vishnu Prasad after the same ATM at Begumpur Khatola village, was robbed twice in a span of ten days.

The inquiry was ordered by Police Commissioner Sandeep Khirwar on February 26 to find out the lapse in security that led to the theft of the ATM twice in a span of ten days.

ATM and its replacement stolen in a span of 10 days

On February 13, a Tata Indicash ATM containing Rs 8 lakh was robbed in Begumpur Khatola village. Barely ten days after the incident, on February 22, the replacement of the ATM machine was stolen. Fortunately, this time the ATM machine was empty.

With the twin ATM robbery cases coming to light, a departmental inquiry against SHO Vishnu Prasad has been ordered by Khirwar.Prasad has also been asked to solve the case of ATM robberies in his area on priority, with help from the crime branch and other teams of the city police.

Speaking on the matter, Khirwar said,“This (ATM thefts) is a very serious matter and the official (Vishnu Prasad) has been asked to focus on solving and preventing cases of ATM thefts in his area. All others should also focus on detection (of any gang operating in their area) and prevention of such thefts in the city.”

ATM thefts on a rise in Gurugram

The ATM thefts has been on a rise in the city, about ten ATMs have been robbed since December and in most of the cases, the thieves managed to steal Rs 7 lakh to Rs 8 lakh on an average from each machine.

Incidentally, in a meeting held on February 13 to discuss the law and order in Gurgaon , the police commission had notified the SHOs to deploy cops at the unmanned ATMs and also instructed PCRs and riders to check ATMs during patrolling. The SHOs were asked to increase patrolling to secure the cash machine. The SHOs were warned that if they failed to check the ATM thefts, they will be replaced.

Khirwar on last Tuesday, said,” The SHOs have been specifically told to increase patrolling in the areas which have ATMs and ensure that a watch is kept, particularly during the night.A list of all cash vending machines will be prepared by respective police stations to identify the ones that are vulnerable. Officers will be held responsible if such incidents continue.”