Rourkela, Jan. 20: Unidentified goons stole cash worth Rs 27.91 lakh from a State Bank of India (SBI) ATM at Kuanrmunda in Birmitrapur, around 15km from Rourkela, in the early hours of Sunday.

The goons, however, caused no damage to the money vending machine. Biramitrapur police, which is investigating the crime, also confirmed that the money was looted without breaking the machine. They have detained two bank employees for questioning.

“The goons might have hacked the password and used the unique secret number to loot cash stored in the machine,” said sub-divisional police officer Biramitrapur, Pravat Routray.

Police have collected footage from the closed circuit television installed at the ATM booth and are studying it to achieve a breakthrough into the theft.

The loot came to the notice on Sunday when customers complained that they were unable to withdraw money from the counter. Bank officials and ATM experts rushed to the site and found that there was no money in it. Then they informed the local police.

Ashok Mahakul, SBI regional manager, said that on Saturday morning they had loaded Rs 14.19 lakh and in the evening the ATM was replenished with another Rs 21.80 lakh. “Of the Rs 35.99 lakh stored at the ATM, around Rs 8 lakh had been withdrawn. The goons managed to take away Rs 27.91 lakh without breaking the counter,” Mahakul said.

As no harm was caused to the machine, the police suspect it to be an act of cyber crime. “We are looking into different angles and the investigation is on,” said Routray.