Bhubaneswar, Nov. 25: Criminals today looted Rs 14 lakh cash from the cabin of a truck when its owner, a rice trader, was having his lunch with the vehicle’s driver near Khandagiri Square.

Police said Bharat Samal, 50, of Mahanga in Cuttack district had delivered a truckload of rice at a mill near Jatni on the city outskirts this morning and was returning to Cuttack with the cash. The truck driver parked the vehicle near Khandagiri Square and both of them went to a hotel to have lunch.

“Criminals broke the window door lock and decamped with the cash kept in a bag. Later, Samal found the bag missing. We have registered a case in this connection,” said an official of Khandagiri police station.

The police also said Samal had told them that a four-wheeler had been following him from Jatni. “We have detained the truck driver and are interrogating both the truck driver and Samal. We are also investigating the possible involvement of the four-wheeler that was following the truck,” he said.