In a brazen New Year's night robbery, a group of six unidentified miscreants managed to steal Rs 5.72 lakh from an ATM kiosk in Odisha's Jajpur district. The incident, which was captured on CCTV, unfolded near Mainda Chhak under the Binjharpur police limits late on the night of January 1, 2026.
The Heist That Almost Failed
The accused initially broke into the ATM kiosk with the intent to loot it directly but were unsuccessful in their first attempt. Undeterred, they changed their strategy in a dramatic turn of events. The group proceeded to physically remove the entire ATM machine from its secured kiosk. They then lugged the heavy machine a short distance away to an isolated spot to dismantle it.
According to police reports, the HDFC bank ATM was situated in a relatively secluded area with minimal activity, especially during nighttime. This isolation likely played a key role in the thieves choosing this location. Senior officers indicated that the precision of the operation suggests the culprits may have conducted a prior reconnaissance of the site.
A Comical Yet Successful Getaway
The recovered CCTV footage revealed the almost farcical details of the escape. The thieves were seen loading the dismantled ATM into a goods auto-rickshaw they had parked nearby. However, their plan hit another snag when they failed to start the vehicle.
Not willing to give up, the six men were then captured on camera pushing the auto-rickshaw for approximately 500 metres to reach a more concealed location. It was there that they finally broke open the machine and extracted the cash, amounting to Rs 5.72 lakh, before fleeing the scene.
Police Launch Manhunt
The crime came to light in the early hours of Friday, January 2, when local residents noticed the damaged ATM structure and the abandoned auto-rickshaw and alerted the authorities. Police promptly reached the spot and seized the vehicle as well as the damaged parts of the ATM.
Jajpur Superintendent of Police Yashpratap Shrimal confirmed that a case has been registered at the Binjharpur police station. Two dedicated police teams have been formed to track down the culprits. "We have recovered CCTV footage from nearby areas to trace the movement of the suspects. A forensic team was also deployed to collect scientific and physical evidence from the sites. We are analysing the details and will be able to arrest the culprits soon," SP Shrimal told The Indian Express.
The police are investigating multiple angles, including whether the crime was executed by an organised gang with experience in ATM thefts. They are also verifying the details of the seized auto-rickshaw and questioning its registered owner. The ATM was managed by a private agency, Financial Software and Systems (P) Ltd, which has lodged a formal complaint regarding the incident.
