The Nuapada police on Tuesday arrested five persons, including the cash van driver, who had hijacked the vehicle and fled with Rs 57 lakh from near Khariar of the district on July 6.
. The driver was identified as Jayram Majhi. The investigating team has managed to seize 55.76 lakh from their possession while the looters have used the remaining money. The five were arrested following a raid in the Komna area, the Nuapada SP said.
"We had launched a manhunt to nab the accused. We had sealed all the main roads, the entry and exit points from the district and National Highways and conducted checking of all the vehicles passing through these points,” the SP added.
“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 including a woman involved in the case,” the SP added.
Notably, four persons including two bank staffs, a security guard and a driver were out to refill several ATMs of the State Bank of India (SBI) in Khariar.
As the van reached the ATM at Khariar, two of the staffs went 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.