CHENNAI: Burglars took away an ATM containing around ₹5 lakh in cash from Koodapakkam near Tiruvallur on Saturday. This is the third ATM burglary reported from the outskirts of Chennai in less than 10 days. In previous ATM thefts, offenders had either broken open the machines or drilled through them to access the cash. In the present case, the entire machine was taken away.The Hitachi ATM, installed by a private bank for its customers, was located on Chennai-Tirupati National Highway. Customers who arrived to withdraw cash on Saturday morning found the machine missing and alerted bank officials.Bank employees reached the spot and informed Vellavedu police. A police team, fingerprint experts and a sniffer dog were deployed to track the burglars. Meanwhile, police questioned residents in the neighbourhood to find out whether any vehicle had been parked near the ATM kiosk at night.Police collected surveillance camera footage from the surrounding areas to establish when the ATM was stolen, identify the number of people involved and determine the vehicle used to transport the machine.Police were searching for the suspects and verifying the amount of cash inside the machine at the time of the theft. Bank officials said the ATM contained ₹5 lakh in cash.Preliminary inquiries revealed that the ATM was not guarded by a security guard. Residents said the incident had raised concerns about night-time security in the Vellavedu police station limits and urged police to increase night patrols along the stretch. Police teams were examining CCTV footage from the neighbourhood and tracking the suspects.
