Masked men escape with Rs 10L meant for ATMs

Police said Devaraj (35) and Muralidharan (30) working for a private ATM money logistics firm were at a Canara Bank ATM in Nombul near Maduravoyal around 8.30 pm on Thursday night when the incident happened. Police said the two had not closed the shutters of the kiosk while loading cash into the machine.

According to police, they loaded Rs 4 lakh into the machine and had Rs 14 lakh with him when a man, with his head covered by a biker’s helmet and wearing a glove, entered the kiosk. The threatened the two staffers, asking them to hand over the cash. Another man with mask and helmet was waiting outside the ATM. When Devaraj and Muralidharan refused to do as was told, the robber attacked Devaraj with a knife, police said.

After snatching the bag filled with the cash, the man escaped from the spot with his accomplice on a two-wheeler. By the time Devaraj and Muralidharan raised an alarm seeking help, the robbers had vanished from the scene.

Police said Devaraj was admitted to a hospital and was discharged later.

After browsing through CCTV footages, police said they came to know that the men were following the agents waiting for the right time. They finally decided to strike when they were filing the ATM chest at Nombul, as the kiosk is located in a secluded location. Special teams have been formed to investigate the case, and the two agents are being questioned further hoping to extract more clues about the robbers. According to police, the two agents had started from the company with Rs 35 lakh cash. They loaded cash at a few ATMs in Virugambakkam, Vadapalani, Porur, Kattupakkam and Valasaravakkam before reaching Nombul.