Cash van driver among 5 held in Rs 57L heist

Five looters including the cash van driver who had hijacked the vehicle and fled with Rs 57 lakh from the Khariar SBI ATM counter in Nuapada district were arrested on Tuesday. One of the looters is a woman, informed Nuapada SP.

The driver has been identified as Jayram Majhi. The investigating team has managed to seize only 55.76L from their possession while the looters have used the remaining money. The five were arrested following a raid in the Komna area, the SP added.

"We had launched a manhunt to nab the accused. We had sealed all the main roads besides entry and exit points through the state and national highways and conducted a strict checking of all the vehicles passing through these points,” the SP briefed media persons at a presser. 

“In a pre-planned manner, the van driver used various means to reach the house of his relatives to avoid arrest. He first took an auto-rickshaw, a cycle, a motorbike, and a car to escape with the money. However, we were on the lookout and managed to nab all the five involved in the case,” the SP added. 

Worth mentioning, four persons including two bank staff, a security guard and a driver were out to refill several ATMs of the State Bank of India in the area. 

As the van reached the ATM at Khariar, two of the staff got inside to refill the ATM, while the driver, after distracting the security guard, hijacked the van and fled the spot. Subsequently, he abandoned the vehicle near Bharuakani forest in Khariar.

Based on a complaint by the manager of the SBI main branch in Khariar, police had launched a manhunt to nab the looters.