Investigators said the firm never filed a police complaint in any of the thefts, despite the missing devices containing crucial CCTV footage
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar : What allegedly began as a disgruntled employee’s attempt to recover three months’ unpaid wages has exposed an ATM surveillance equipment theft racket, with Parbhani police arresting a former cash management services (CMS) technician and his associates on Thursday on charges of stealing hard disks from at least 27 ATM kiosks across Maharashtra . Vishal Dhaktode(20) of Mukundwadi in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar had worked as a CCTV technician with the cash management firm responsible for maintaining ATM surveillance systems, according to police. “During the investigation, we found that the gang had allegedly stolen 27 hard disks. A joint team of local crime branch (LCB) and Nanapeth police nabbed Sachin Uday Yadav (23) and Prafull Shankar Sonawane (22) of Jalna within hours of receiving information about the thefts.
Investigators said the firm never filed a police complaint in any of the thefts, despite the missing devices containing crucial CCTV footage. Frustrated over repeated failed attempts to recover his dues, he removed hard disks from three public sector bank ATM kiosks and refused to return them till he was paid,” police said. Police said the firm eventually cleared his pending salary and recovered the stolen hard disks, purportedly choosing a quiet settlement over legal action to avoid reputational damage and potential scrutiny from the bank. What is particularly concerning is that the firm had not registered an FIR in any of these incidents, despite the thefts involving equipment containing CCTV footage,” Parbhani superintendent of police Pankaj Kumawat said. LCB inspector Gajendra Sarode said coordinated police action led to rapid breakthroughs in the case. Two suspects were detained within two hours, and our team subsequently apprehended the third accused in Sambhajinagar,” he said.
The strategy apparently worked. But what started as an act of retaliation allegedly snowballed into a larger operation. Investigators then traced and Dhaktode in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. “We acted swiftly after receiving information about the three ATM thefts in Parbhani.
“Dhaktode quit his job earlier this year after his employer allegedly withheld three months of salary.