Bhubaneswar, Nov 10 (IANS): Unknown armed robbers on Friday looted Rs 1.50 crore in from an SBI ATM cash van in Tigiria area of Cuttack district in Odisha.

Mihir Kumar Panda, the Superintendent of Police, Cuttack district along with the cops from Athagarh and Tigiria Police stations reached the spot and initiated a probe into the incident.

“The staffers of a company engaged in refilling ATM machines came with cash from the State Bank of India’s branch at Athagarh. Having refilled cash in four ATM kiosks, while they were on their way to refill cash in other ATMs, some criminals waylaid the company staff and looted cash boxes threatening them with revolvers and other dreaded weapons.

“So far, we have come to know that the boxes contained cash worth Rs 1.50 crore while the exact figure can only be ascertained after they file a formal report on the incident. We have constituted three teams to nab the accused,” said Panda.

Police immediately swung into action and started checking vehicles coming into and going outside the area by putting nakabandi at important points in Athgarh. The cops are yet to nab the robbers till the last report came in. Police have recorded the statements of the company staff present in the vehicle.

“We were returning after loading cash in an ATM machine at Godijharia market. The driver slowed down the van after it was hit by a stone. Suddenly, seven to eight masked miscreants on a scorpio, scooter and bike came before the van. The robbers, armed with swords and revolvers, asked us to come out of the vehicle. They took away our mobile phones and my gun. Later, they decamped with boxes containing cash over Rs 1.50 crore,” said the security guard of the van.