Balasore, Jan 15: The Balasore Police on Monday apprehended five members of a Haryana-based ATM looter gang who had escaped from the spot following loot of cash from two Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Balasore’s Khaira and Soro areas recently.
Five accused, who hail from different districts of Haryana, have been arrested while they had concealed themselves in Bhubaneswar, said Balasore SP, Sagarika Nath.
The SP informed that the gang had looted Rs 6-10 lakh from a Punjab National Bank (PNB) ATM at Mangalpur and Rs 5 lakh from an Axis Bank ATM at Tudigadia market in Khaira on the intervening night of January 11-12.
At least six members had looted the cash by cutting open the vending machine with the help of gas cutters. Soon they escaped after brandishing pistol to the security personnel at various check points who reportedly chased the gang after the ATM loots. Mayurbhanj Police was also alerted and as a police team was chasing the robbers, they had to abandon the car midway.
Based on the CCTV footage and pieces of evidence from the car, police started an investigation by constituting special teams, the SP added.
The ATM looters’ gang used to travel by air, train, and on road to different places in Odisha in a bid to loot rural ATMs. The gang is involved in similar ATM loot in Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. The car that was left abandoned on a bamboo fairweather bridge ,appears to be a stolen one from Delhi bearing the registration number of Jharkhand,” the SP added.
Further investigation is underway to investigate into other ATM loots in order to unearth the links of the gang, said the police.
