Kakinada, Nov 3rd: An amount of Rupees 14 lakh was found missing from the ICICI bank ATM at Peddapuram town, 20 km away from here on Tuesday morning. The burglary took place on November 1 around noon and was noticed within half an hour but the Bank lodged a formal complaint with the police on Tuesday. In his complaint, the Bank Manager attributed the delay in reporting to the police, to verification of the money transaction registers of all the ATMs, to find out the actual amount stolen.

According to the police the incident took place after the security guard left the place to have lunch at a nearby hotel. On his return he noticed that the ATM's chest door was open and immediately reported the matter to the Bank manager, the complaint said. The ATM shutters were downed for the day and also on Monday for verification. The Peddapuram police, who registered the case, said the miscreants had tampered with the secret CCTV cameras installed inside the ATM. Police suspect the involvement of the bank staff as outsiders would not have any knowledge about the CCTV camera network and their de-linking.

The two bank staffs, who keep the required cash in the ATM chest daily, told the police that they promptly handed over the key to the concerned clerk after completion of their job, but the clerk denied the same. Police are now interrogating the bank staff pending further investigation.