BHUBANESWAR: In a major breakthrough in the Sriram Nagar ATM loot case, the Commissonerate Police have arrested six persons and recovered the damaged machine from their possession.
The accused have been identified as Debi Prasad Mallia (29) and Akash Mohapatra (27) from Danda Sahi in Kapileswar, Ramakanta Sahoo (20) from Chintamani Nagar in Jatni, Sagar Samal (24) and Biren Rout (20) from Sundarpada and Akash Mukherji (23) from Vedavyas, Rourkela.
Two bikes, cash worth Rs 1.60 lakh, two crowbars and hammers, the damaged ATM, some stolen goods and six mobile phones have been seized from their possession. The accused were apprehended on the basis of examination of the CCTV footage, police said.
The chief manager of SBI, Old Town, had lodged a complaint that miscreants had looted the cash along with the ATM machine from Sriram Nagar at around 2.40 am on January 24. While the accused had looted cash worth Rs 21.77 lakh, the cost of the ATM machine was also approximately Rs 1.70 lakh, police said.
According to police, two of the accused were also involved in a previous ATM loot case in the city in 2022, while another one is also an accused in a murder case. The accused hatched the plan to commit the crime after they were released from the jail in last December. Further investigation into the matter is in progress, police said.