Caught on camera, New Year heist in Odisha doesn’t go to plan, but miscreants still manage to flee with cash

Eventually, they fled with Rs 5.72 lakh in cash and are now being hunted by two police teams formed to trace them down. (Screengrab for video)

At least six unidentified miscreants broke into an ATM kiosk late on New Year’s Day to loot it, but initially failed in their attempt. Subsequently, they proceeded to remove the entire machine from the kiosk and dismantle it after lugging it a short distance away.

The incident occurred late on Thursday night near Mainda Chhak under Binjharpur police limit in Odisha’s Jajpur. The ATM kiosk was located near an isolated area, where there wasn’t much activity, especially at night, police said.

As per the CCTV footage recovered by police, the thieves were seen carrying the dismantled ATM machine to a goods auto rickshaw that was parked outside. Unable to start the auto, the miscreants were then seen on camera pushing it around 500 metres to an isolated place where they broke the machine and managed to remove cash.

Caught on camera, New Year heist in Odisha doesn’t go to plan, but miscreants still manage to flee with cash | Watch video pic.twitter.com/PjFERu2bkH

Police said locals noticed the damaged ATM structure and the auto early on Friday morning and alerted police, who reached the spot and seized vehicle as well as the damaged parts of the ATM machine.

Jajpur SP Yashpratap Shrimal said a case has been registered at the Binjharpur police station and that two teams have been formed to investigate the matter and capture the culprits.

“We have recovered CCTV footage from nearby areas to trace the movement of the suspects. A forensic team was also deployed to collect scientific and physical evidence from the sites. We are analysing the details and will be able to arrest the culprits soon,” Shrimal told The Indian Express.

The Jajpur SP said police are also verifying details of the vehicle used by the miscreants and questioning its owner. The way the location of the ATM kiosk was chosen and the crime was carried out points to the possibility that the miscreants conducted a recce of the place beforehand, police said.

Senior officers said multiple angles are being examined to ascertain whether the crime was carried out by an organised gang familiar with ATM theft.

The HDFC bank ATM was managed by Financial Software and Systems (P) Ltd, a private agency, which lodged a complaint with police about the incident.