JHARSUGUDA: In a daring robbery bid, unidentified miscreants tried to take away an automated teller machine (ATM) of the Central Bank of India by using a stolen earthmover at Jharsuguda town in the wee hours of Thursday.
The incident took place at around 1.30 am near BTM chowk within Jharsuguda Sadar police limits.
According to the CCTV footage, the miscreants used the earthmover to demolish the ATM kiosk located along National Highway-49. They uprooted the ATM, loaded it on the JCB machine’s front shovel and drove away.
However, after covering some distance, the miscreants abandoned the earthmover and the ATM at the roadside and fled. Sources said all the cash in the ATM was intact as the robbers could not open the machine.
On being informed in the morning, Jharsuguda SP Smit P Parmar along with Sadar IIC Swapnamayee Gochhayat reached the spot for investigation. Police recovered the JCB machine and the ATM.
Officer of Central Bank of India Chaturbhuj Jena lodged a complaint in this connection basing on which police registered a case. Meanwhile, owner of the earthmover also filed a complaint stating that his machine, bearing registration number OD23 3877 was stolen from a parking lot on Wednesday. The owner, Phulchand Kumar of Mau district in Uttar Pradesh, resides in BTM area.
Sources said police are analysing the CCTV footage to identify the culprits and have reportedly detained the earthmover’s owner and driver.
IIC Gochhayat confirmed that two suspects have been detained in this connection. They are being interrogated. Police are scanning the footage of CCTV cameras and further investigation is underway.