The Commissionerate of police on Friday started its investigation into the loot of nearly Rs 23 lakh from the office of a private company by breaking the iron chest inside the premises of the Regional Transport Office (RTO) here on Thursday night. The company was engaged by the RTO to collect various fees form the motor vehicles. According to sources, unidentified miscreants looted the amount by breaking the iron chest between 8.30 pm and 10 pm.
"We have been repeatedly asking the company officials to take preventive measures to avoid such type of mishaps. However, we suspect an insider's hand in this crime," said Bhubaneswar RTO lalmohan Sethi. But it would be a tough task for the police as the CCTV was out of order during that time.
Meanwhile, Transport Commissioner Surendra Kumar visited the RTO to take stock of the situation. "There will be no revenue loss to the State exchequer. It is the company's own business. The company will have to pay the amount as per the agreement," said Kumar. According to him, the police would examine the fingerprints on the iron chest to identify the culprits. The quarter-ending collection money was kept inside the iron chest.
On the other hand, raising finger at the integrity of the security guards the company's project director SP Tripathy said, "We have our routine security in the office but during the shift change of security guards the incident has happened. So, we suspect an insider's hand in the case."
In yet another incident, a light Emitting Diode (lED) television set was reportedly stolen from the conference hall of the Chief Minister from the third floor of the State Secretariat. Meanwhile, senior administrative officials have started investigation into the incident. However, refuting the allegation, a caretaker of the hall said the TV was sent for repairs as it had developed some defect.