In the early hours of Monday morning, a 35-year-old woman in Chennai dumped 43 sovereigns of gold ornaments worth a whopping Rs 15 lakh in the dustbin of an ATM on Kundrathur Murugan Koil road.
According to a ToI report, the woman was mentally ill, depressed, and had a sleepwalking disorder.
When the security guard at the ATM noticed the gold ornaments in the dustbin, he called the Kundrathur police station and informed them about a leather bag inside the bin.
He told the cops that he opened the suspicious bag and discovered gold jewelry inside. A police report was filed with the assistance of the manager of the bank to which the ATM is attached.
During the investigation, the police checked the CCTV camera and discovered that a woman had left the ATM, dumping the bag in the trash.
A complaint was also received from a couple who stated that their 35-year-old daughter had been missing from the house since 4 a.m. The couple later informed the police that she had returned around 7 a.m.
The couple was then shown the CCTV footage and confirmed that it was their daughter who was seen dumping the bag containing Rs 15 lakh in gold jewelry in an ATM bin.
The woman’s parents claimed that they had no idea their daughter had taken the jewelry until police asked them to search the cupboard for valuables.
The couple told the cops that their daughter had a habit of sleepwalking and had been depressed for a few months. They also stated that their ward is being treated.
The bag was handed over to the couple by the cops. According to the report, Kunrathur inspector Chandru stated that it would not have been possible to trace the jewelry without the timely alert from the ATM’s security guard.
The police also expressed gratitude to the security guard and bank manager for their sincere gesture.