Labourer held for attempting to break into two ATM kiosks

Senior Inspector Vaibhav Shingare, in-charge of Chakan police station, said, “Our team reached the ATM kiosk and found that someone had tried to break the cash dispenser with a blunt object. Footage from security cameras installed at the kiosk were sought from bank officials. In the video recording, a man could be seen trying to break the machine with a rock.” Having been given a description of the suspect’s appearance and clothes, the search team found the suspect in the same area and arrested him.”

Police said the arrested suspect Mohammed Sarfaraz Kalimuddin Ansari (26) is from Rohtas in Bihar, and had moved to Pune a few weeks ago in search of labour work . “Upon questioning the suspect and subsequent investigation, another break-in attempt at another ATM kiosk, also of a public sector bank, in the same area came to light. CCTV footage at the kiosk confirmed the involvement of the same suspect. Two separate cases were registered against him,” officials said. The second ATM kiosk is also of a public sector bank.

In 2020 and 2021, a series of burglaries and burglary attempts at ATMs kiosks were reported in Pune, with most of the targeted kiosks located in industrial areas in and around Pune. The probes had revealed that most of these heists had taken place in deserted areas at night. Despite clear guidelines from RBI and repeated communication from the police, banks and non-banking entities that manage the ATMs kiosks, had failed to put in place adequate security cover, officials had observed. Many of these burglaries were reported in and around Chakan.