A man employed with an ATM cash-loading company stole Rs 11.5 lakh from an automated teller machine (ATM) in Vidyapeetha Circle in Hanumanthnagar. The theft baffled the police as, though the money had been stolen, the ATM was not tampered with.The video footage too did not help the police. The police have now arrested N. Shivaraj, 28, a resident of 7th main Srinivasnagar, who hails from Hassan district. The police said Shivaraj was a second-level cash loading agent for an ATM cash depositing company.
Officials of Writer Safeguard Ltd loaded the ICICI ATM with Rs 14 lakh cash on August 14. But when they conducted an audit on August 16, they found that the money had been stolen from the ATM.
The security manager of the ATM cash depositing company filed a complaint with the Hanumanthnagar police. DCP Sonia Narang said, “We realised that it had to be the handiwork of someone familiar with the ATM codes. The ATM was not tampered with as the culprit was familiar with the machine codes. We built a list of all those who had access to the ATM codes.”
Soon the police zeroed in on Shivaraj. During the interrogation, Shivaraj told the police that he came to Bengaluru five years ago and was working with ATM cash loading services. The police said, “He wanted to make easy money and came to the ATM early in the morning on August 16. He opened the ATM cash box with the coces and stole the money. He left some money in the ATM to as not to raise suspicion. But the same day the audit was conducted and the theft discovered.