Cuttack, May 3: Police began a probe as Rs 33 lakh was found missing from State Bank of India ATM along the National Highway No.5 at Tangi.

The matter came to light after the branch manager lodged a police complaint in connection with the theft with Tangi police around 11pm on yesterday.

Though forensic team has visited the spot, the officials are clueless as the closed circuit television camera (CCTV) was lying defunct for the last one month.

Police sources said cash worth Rs 32,98,000 was reportedly missing from the ATM No.1 of the State Bank of India in the afternoon yesterday.

This came to light after a few customers, who had come to withdraw cash, reported to the bank officials about the technical snag after they failed to make any transaction from the ATM.

After carrying out preliminary probe, the bank officials found that all the four cash-containing trays were missing from the ATM.

The ATM was intact and no damage was caused to the machine. Hence, it is suspected that the cash has been allegedly stolen by goons in connivance with some employees of the bank, the police said.

“Cash cannot be taken out of the ATM as it is protected by password which is available only with the branch manager and the technical head engaged in loading cash in the ATM,” said inspector-in-charge of Tangi police station Anandi Sethi.

Sethi said both the branch manager and other employees had been interrogated.

Police sources said the ATM had a capacity of Rs 45 lakh that was stored in four separate trays. The cash was loaded on May 1.

There is a transaction worth Rs 5 lakh on a daily basis as the ATM is located on the side of the NH-5 connecting Cuttack with Jajpur.

“I am clueless about the theft. I will extend full co-operation to the probe,” said branch manager Jagamohan Das.

A lot of customers have also raised question on the safety measures at ATM counters as bulk of the bank’s teller machines are unmanned while bulk of the CCTVs inside the counters are not working.

Cuttack deputy commissioner of police S. Praveen Kumar had recently told The Telegraph that he had discussed the issue of lapses in security measures at the ATM counters with concerned officials, who were yet to act on such proposals.