Patna: Hundreds of customers made a beeline to an ATM booth in Bihar on Friday evening after it began dispensing more cash than sought for. By the time the bank officials could act, customers had walked away with cash totalling around Rs872,000 (Dh46,707).
Witnesses said the Indian Bank ATM, located in central Bihar’s Jehanabad town, gave out a Rs2,000 note to a customer when he entered a withdrawal of Rs100. He re-entered the same amount of Rs100 again and the machine again gave him Rs2,000.
Soon, the news of the ATM churning out excess cash spread in the area and local villagers rushed to the booth with bank cards in hand. Witnesses said the residents literally scrambled for cash withdrawals, emptying the ATM quickly.
The ATM glitch started at 5pm on Friday and the next five hours saw a heavy rush of customers to the booth.
The bank officials only got to know about the faulty ATM late in the evening and by the time they could take action, it had already been emptied. The officials said adding they are trying to identify the customers.
Among them was a customer made nine withdrawals and walked away with Rs72,000. “We are trying to identify the customers. Once their identity is established, the excess money will be realised from them,” the bank’s assistant general manager Ravi Ranjan told the media on Saturday.
Officials said the ATM turned out excess cash due to technical snags. The machine had been reportedly serviced just two days ago.
