In the last one month, thieves targeted at least seven State Bank of India (SBI) ATMs in six districts in Bihar and stole around ₹1.54 crore in cash.
The latest incidents took place on December 18 in Bettiah, West Champaran district, where two SBI ATMs were broken into during the night. According to police, about ₹14 lakh was stolen from ATMs located in the Nautan and Town police station areas. The thieves used gas cutters to break open the machines.
Police said all the targeted ATMs belonged to SBI and followed the same pattern, indicating the involvement of a single, well-organised gang. In most cases, the ATMs had been filled with cash shortly before the thefts and did not have security guards. The criminals also either damaged or blocked CCTV cameras before carrying out the thefts.
DIG of Champaran Range, Hari Kishore Rai, said an investigation was launched immediately after the Bettiah incidents. CCTV footage and technical analysis provided several important clues. Based on the similarities across cases, the Bettiah police formed eight special teams to investigate the thefts. These teams are now conducting raids in different parts of the country.
During the investigation, police studied similar ATM thefts reported in other districts of Bihar. It was found that the same type of vehicle was used in all cases. This strengthened the suspicion of an organised gang operating across states.
In a related development, police in West Bengal recently arrested members of an ATM theft gang involved in similar crimes. Following this, a team from Bettiah police visited West Bengal and questioned the arrested suspects. The interrogation provided key information.
Further investigation revealed that the gang is led by a person based in Haryana, with some members also from Rajasthan. Police said the gang has trained young operatives who are sent to different states, including Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal, to carry out ATM thefts. Investigators also received inputs that local youths are being used as spotters to help with planning and logistics.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected. But this has also raised a serious question on the safety and security of ATMs of Banks.
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