Bhubaneswar: Eight people were arrested as an inter-state ATM robbery gang was busted by the Odisha Police, an officer said Tuesday.
The arrests were made during an investigation into the robbery at an SBI ATM in Sriram Nagar in Bhubaneswar, Police Commissioner Suresh Dev Datta Singh said.
“Six persons were arrested from Odisha, while two more suspects were arrested from Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal,” he said.
The gang had taken away the ATM machine along with the cash in it in the early hours of January 24. While there was Rs 21.77 lakh in cash in it, the cost of the machine was about Rs 1.70 lakh, police said.
Those arrested from the state were identified as Debi Prasad Mallia (29), Akash Mohapatra (27), Ramakanta Sahoo (20), Sagar Samal (24), Biren Rout (20) and Akash Mukherji (23), the commissioner said.
“During the investigation, police found two inter-state criminals were involved. They were identified as Raju (45) alias Sk Mijanur Raheman and A Rustam (36). Rustam was arrested in Ghaziabad in UP, while Raju was apprehended in West Bengal,” he said.
“Rustam was recently released from a Goa jail,” he added.
The damaged ATM machine and the goods vehicle used for transporting it were also recovered, the officer said.
“With technical examination, CCTV analysis and local sources, the police found clues regarding the involvement of local criminals and outsiders in this case. Subsequently, different teams were formed, raids were conducted inside and outside the state, and the suspects were apprehended,” he said.
Two motorbikes, nearly Rs 2 lakh in cash, two crowbars and hammers, and some stolen goods were also seized from the suspects, police said.
PTI