Heist in 10 minutes: Masked gang loots Rs 30 lakh from Bengaluru ATM, blacks out CCTV cameras to evade capture

In a daring heist, a gang of four armed men looted Rs 30 lakh from a State Bank of India (SBI) ATM kiosk near Devanahalli Cross in Sulibele, Karnataka, in the early hours of Saturday.

The robbers, who arrived in a Hyundai Creta with an Andhra Pradesh registration number, executed the crime between 3:10 am and 3:20 am, according to a report in Times of India (TOI).

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Equipped with a gas-cutting machine, the gang first cut open the ATM’s shutter, then used the cutter to break into the cash vault. To evade identification, they covered their faces with full-face caps and sprayed black paint on the CCTV cameras. The heist was meticulously planned, as the ATM kiosk had no security guard, as per the TOI report.

The robbery came to light when the bank manager, who lives in the same building, heard noises. However, by the time he reached the kiosk, the criminals had already fled with the cash via the Hoskote route. The incident is particularly shocking as the ATM was located just 500 meters from the Sulibele police station.

Police said they had recently intensified patrols and held discussions with bank officials on improving ATM security, especially after a recent cash transportation vehicle robbery in Bidar. Despite this, the gang managed to pull off the heist without resistance. Authorities are now analyzing CCTV footage from nearby areas to track down the suspects.

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