Police are still groping in the dark in cracking the twin loot cases of Rs 57 lakh in Aurangabad and Muzaff- arpur districts.

Muzaffarpur police have recovered the vehicle that was used in looting Rs 14.25 lakh from employees of a toll plaza on National Highway 57 on Monday.

It was found abandoned at a secluded place at Phulwari village, around 30km from the district headquarters, said Muzaffarpur superintendent of police (SP) Saurav Kumar. Based on the vehicle’s registration number (BR-06-AJ-2574), the police have identified its owner. They, however, have not revealed the owner’s name.

Sources said two youths, suspected to have informed the robbers about the movement of the toll plaza employees, have also been apprehended. Based on the information provided by toll plaza employee Anirudh Prasad Singh, an FIR has been lodged with Bochahan police station.

The police have also failed to make any breakthrough in the Aurangabad loot case, in which criminals robbed Rs 43 lakh from a bank’s van and shot at two security guards.

Instead, they have blamed the bank authorities for not following regulations. Police sources said such incidents occurred because banks did not follow security norms. “They should ask for escort,” said a police officer.

P.K. Pandey, the regional manager of Madhya Bihar Gramin Bank — to which the cash was being transferred — said bankers were ready to co-operate with the police. “We shall seek a police escort in the future,” he said.