Birbhum police have recovered around Rs 60 lakh of the Rs 86 lakh that an ATM cash van driver had fled with from Jagaddal in North 24-Parganas on August 26 evening, but certain inconsistencies in the probe have prompted the state police directorate to hand over the case to the CID.

A source in Birbhum police said that some civic volunteers attached to Rampurhat police station had intercepted the van when it was making several rounds of the town.

While carrying out a search of the van, they stumbled on the cash. Though the van was seized, prime accused Raj Halder and his friend Tanmay De managed to flee leaving the vehicle behind. The police later arrested the duo from an undisclosed hideout.

Deputy commissioner (Zone-1) of Barrackpore police commissionerate Ajay Kumar Thakur confirming the arrest of the duo.

“The major amount of the looted cash had been recovered from the van after the accused abandoned it in Rampurhat and fled. Later we also arrested the accused duo. We have got some leads from them during interrogation and are trying to recover the balance amount as well,” Thakur added.

A source said that as several inconsistencies had cropped up over the seizure of the cash and the subsequent arrests, and it involved two police districts, the case had been handed over to the CID for investigation and recovery of the remaining amount.

On August 26, the driver of the cash van had fled with it when one of the employees of the cash management firm was refilling an ATM kiosk of the Punjab National Bank at Atpur in Jagaddal.