Unknown criminals decamped with more than Rs 15 lakh stored in the SBI ATM at Harihurganj on the intervening night of Wednesday/ Thursday about 68 Kms off Daltonganj. Criminals broke open the ATM chest and took away the cash.

Giving this information SP Palamu Ajay Linda said the loot of 15 lakh of cash from ATM became public this Thursday morning and Harihurganj police swung into action.

The criminals had taken away the DVR of the CCTV camera thus blunting all chance and hope of police to scan the recorded images of the criminals.

Linda said this ATM was ‘idle’ over the last three days but no SBI official found time to tell this storage of this much of huge cash there in the ATM in all these days and now when criminals decamped with more than 15 lakh then the SBI is coming up with the complaint.

Linda said there remains no security guard at this SBI ATM.

He questioned the wisdom of the senior SBI officials as to how any ATM can be left unguarded when its services are claimed to be 24x7.

The criminals even made bid to break open the vault of the bank but failed.

A nearby welding shop was raided by the criminals from where they got hammer and gas cutter which they used to rip apart the cash box of the ATM. Police have lodged the case and a hunt is said Linda adding the gang is suspected to be a local one.

On complicity of any bank personnel the SP said police are investigating the matter. SDPO Chhaterpur Shambhu K Singh said the bank officials just take security angle too lightly and never bother to keep police informed of this particular ATM not functioning since 3 days with such a cash there as had the SBI informed the Harihurganj police and taken help this incident might not have happened as then police would have patrolled this ATM more.

The SBI ATM kiosk is right on NH 98 and just 200 steps away from Bihar.