Bhubaneswar: With increasing cases of ATM loot in the State, the Odisha police have chalked out a concrete action plan to put an end to the rising crime.
Sources said all district SPs have been directed to form special squads to check ATM loot incidents in the state. The cops have been asked to keep a record of name, address and contact details of guests checking in various hotels and lodges in their respective districts.
The move came after miscreants looted around Rs 25 lakhs from four ATMs in Baripada town Saturday giving a tough challenge to the Odisha police. A team of the Crime Branch (CB) visited the town for investigation into the series ATM loot incident.
As per Crime Branch sources, the looters, who are mostly from outside the State, damage CCTVs installed inside AMT counters and take away hard disks with them after committing the offence. CCTVs have been installed in petrol pumps and entry and exit points of all cities and towns to locate the looters, sources added.
It may be mentioned here that such gangs are mainly active in Bhadrak, Balasore, Ganjam, Rourkela, Cuttack and Baripada and have looted around Rs 2 crores from various ATMs in the last seven months.
It may be mentioned here that the police have been repeatedly asking the bank officials to depute security guards for the safety and security of the ATMs. However, most of the banks are not following instructions of the police. Apart from few places in the twin city none of the city have guards at their ATMs.
