Assam: Mice chew cash worth Rs 12 lakh; FIR lodged

GUWAHATI, June 19, 2018: Mice stealing food from kitchen would probably sound more common in few household, where a man can easily chase them away, but when it comes to ATM and a gang of hungry mice sneaking in, well that sounds daunting.

In a bizarre incident that took place in the city, a gang of mice chewed away cash amounting to Rs 12.38 lakh from inside an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) in Assam's Tinsukia Laipuli area.

The shocking stash was discovered by technicians who had been asked by the bank to fix the ATM on June 11. The machine was lying unused since May 20, reports said. When they cracked open the machine, they found piles of shredded cash, mostly Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes.

Bank officials claimed rodents nibbled notes worth Rs 12,38,000. The ATM is run by a Guwahati-based financial company named FIS, which had reportedly deposited Rs 29 lakh inside the machine on May 19. The ATM, reports claimed, stopped working the next day.

The heap of money is suspected to have been shredded by mice that managed to enter the machine somehow.

The bank has doubts about the damage done and has initiated a probe. "May 20 and June 11 is a significant period of time for an ATM to be out of service. People are suspicious as to why it took so long for the mechanics to arrive" said a local. The pictures of shredded notes inside the ATM booth went viral on Facebook and Twitter, with many calling it Demonetisation Part 2.

An FIR has been lodged with Tinsukia police and investigation into the matter is in process.

Featured image: The Economic times/ Representation

Source: The Economic Times