CUTTACK
: Unidentified miscreants looted around Rs 16 lakh from an ATM of
State Bank of India
at Gandarpur by cutting open the machine with a portable gas cutter late on Sunday. It is the first of its kind ATM robbery.
"Incidents of looting by tampering ATM machines were reported in the city. But this crime is completely different from the previous ones. Prima facie it seems to be the handiwork of some experienced ATM robbery gang," said ACP Trinath Mishra. The loot came to the fore when passersby saw broken locks and half opened shutter of the unguarded ATM counter and informed bank officials and police. The loot had been committed with precision, police said. The criminals had also damaged the
CCTV
cameras installed in the ATM counter.
"I was returning from morning walk when I saw the half opened shutter of the ATM. Nothing was visible through the glass door as thick black smoke had accumulated inside it. Suspecting short circuit, I informed a local bank official. Only after entering the counter we came to know that it was a robbery," said S C Mohanty, a local resident.
Police suspects that four to five persons were involved in the crime. The incident has sent shockwaves in the city as the ATM was located on the roadside. "The miscreants entered the ATM and cut it open using gas cutters and surprisingly nobody got a tip off about it," said lawyer
Manoj Tripathy
. "If such crimes occur during festive season when police patrolling is at its peak, then it speaks volume about the law and order situation in the city," said Tripathy.
Police claimed that miscreants had committed the crime after proper planning.
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