Bhubaneswar: Goons looted cash worth lakhs from two ATM kiosks of a private bank in Khurda and Puri districts on Saturday night. Police suspected the involvement of an inter-state gang behind the loots.

In the first case, goons looted the cash after breaking open the ATM of a private bank at Kanasa in Puri district using gas cutters. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed at the ATM counter were found damaged and the hard disc of the machine was also missing. In the second case, goons decamped with cash from the ATM of the same private bank at Nirakarpur in Khurda district.

"In both the cases, the goons targeted unguarded ATM counters and used gas cutters to open the machines. CCTV cameras have also been found damaged in both the cases. We suspected involvement of the members of the same gang in the crimes," said a police officer.

The police suspected involvement of two to three miscreants in the Nirakarpur ATM loot. "We went through the CCTV footage of a shop near to the ATM counter and found two to three persons roaming around suspiciously. Bank officials claimed that the ATM had cash worth more than Rs 11 lakh," said the officer.

In another development, the police on Sunday arrested the owner of a bar at Chandrasekharpur for allegedly assaulting a couple on Saturday night. Bar owner Ajit Pradhan was arrested on charges of assault and molestation. The couple alleged Pradhan of manhandling them over payment of bill. In yet another incident, Chandrasekharpur police on Sunday arrested a person for allegedly stealing cash worth Rs 40,000 from the attendant of a patient. The accused, Abhimanyu Rout, is a native of Banki in Cuttack district.