CHENNAI: Two days after a gang broke open an ATM at Somangalam, near Tambaram, and escaped with cash, a similar burglary was reported at Gummidipoondi in Tiruvallur district on Thursday, where culprits used welding equipment to cut open an Axis Bank ATM and fled with Rs 11.5 lakh. The modus operandi was similar, as burglars had first sprayed a black paint on the CCTV, disabled the alarm and then opened the chest box with a welding machine. Both the ATMs were in suburbs and there were no security guards.The ATM is located on the Gummidipoondi bypass road at M Po Si Nagar, where Axis Bank and Indian Overseas Bank ATMs operate from adjacent buildings. The theft came to light when a customer entered the Axis Bank kiosk to withdraw cash and found the machine broken open.SIPCOT police rushed to the spot and found that the gang had sprayed black paint on the surveillance camera before using welding equipment to cut open the ATM and access the cash compartment. According to bank officials, Rs 12 lakh had been loaded into the machine two days earlier, of which around Rs 11.5 lakh was stolen.Police said the gang also tried to break open the nearby Indian Overseas Bank ATM but abandoned the attempt after failing to access the cash.Police are examining whether the burglary is linked to the recent ATM theft at Somangalam, where a gang used a similar modus operandi and escaped with Rs nine lakh, targeting an unmanned ATM, obscuring the CCTV camera and cutting open the machine using welding equipment before escaping with cash.Police suspect the gangs to have been operating across state borders and choosing ATMs without security guards.Based on the similarities in the method used, police suspect that a Haryana-based gang could be behind the latest theft. Investigators are examining CCTV footage from roads, toll plazas and areas surrounding the ATM to trace the vehicle used by the suspects.