Rats blamed for eating banknotes worth about N17 million in ATM in India

Rats have been blamed after bank notes that amount to 1.2m rupees (£13,300, $17,600) were found shredded to bits in a malfunctioning cash machine in Assam, India.

Technicians arrived to fix the malfunctioning ATM and were shocked to see the money in it has been destroyed. Pictures of the shredded bank notes at the State Bank of India branch in Tinsukia district were widely shared on Twitter.

Rats have been suspected as responsible for the damage. In one of the pictures shared online, a dead rodent can be seen lying in the midst of the shredded cash. Police said the rodents probably entered the machine through a hole for wiring, the Hindustan Times reported.

Police official Prakash Sonowal said that the machine had been out of action for about 12 days, the Hindustan Times added. Technicians who took the unit apart found banknotes of 2,000 and 500 rupee denominations destroyed. They managed to salvage another 1.7m rupees, officials said.