Bhubaneswar: The alertness of locals foiled an ATM loot attempt by miscreants in the capital city on Saturday. As per the plan, in the wee hours, the robbers targeted the Indian Bank ATM situated at the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Road but failed to execute the robbery after locals rushed to the spot hearing noise from inside the kiosk. While one person has been arrested so far, police are interrogating four others in this connection.
Briefing media persons, city DCP Umashankar Das informed that the incident took place at around 4 am today. "The miscreants had come with iron rods and screwdriver to break open the ATM. But locals rushed and immediately alerted the police. There was some scuffle between locals and miscreants during which four robbers managed to escape the spot."
"The one who was nabbed by locals was handed over to police. Based on an interrogation, we have managed to nab four others. All five are being questioned and we are verifying if they were involved in such loot cases earlier. Further investigation will lead us to their detailed identification and whether they have a criminal record," added the DCP.
Most probably, all the detainees are residents of nearby slums, he added.
A month ago, Commissionerate Police had foiled another robbery attempt at an ATM counter in Gandarpur area under Chauliaganj Police limits in Cuttack and had arrested one Sishir Debanath. As per the case report, the accused entered the ATM in the wee hours with all equipment such as gas cutters, oxygen cylinders but an alert inside the ATM prompted police team to rush to the spot.
Cuttack DCP Prateek Singh informed that the accused was working at a medicine store and confessed to the crime. He watched several videos on ways to loot cash from ATMs and procured required equipment from a shop at Mahanadi Vihar area, police said.