Patna, May 7 In a daring daylight robbery, eight armed robbers stormed a Bank of Maharashtra branch in Kashipur locality of Samastipur on Wednesday, looting jewellery worth Rs 4.5 crore and Rs 15 lakh cash, an official said.
The bank, situated in one of the busiest areas of the city, witnessed the crime unfold in broad daylight, leaving the residents in shock.
According to Superintendent of Police Ashok Mishra, the incident was carried out by a gang of eight, of which three posed as customers intending to open accounts. Soon after, five more individuals entered, taking bank employees and customers hostage at gunpoint.
They locked the employees and customers in one room, broke the lockers and took away the jewellery.
"The miscreants looted valuables from both the bank counters and the lockers. They also snatched mobile phones from the staff and customers to prevent any alarms or communication," Mishra said.
Remarkably, the crime went unnoticed by the busy commercial establishments located beneath the bank until the police arrived.
The gang members fled the scene on motorcycles, and no immediate alarm was raised.
Senior police officials, including ASP Sanjay Pandey and other police teams reached the scene shortly after.
A manhunt has been launched, and all entry and exit points in the district have been sealed. Police are currently analysing CCTV footage inside and outside the bank, and tracking the registration numbers of the motorcycles on which the robbers escaped.
“We are confident of arresting the culprits soon,” Mishra added.
The incidents of robberies in banks and jewellery shops have increased in Bihar in the last few months. On March 10, six armed robbers had struck at a Tanishq jewellery showroom in Arrah and looted valuables worth approximately Rs 25 crore.
Another major heist took place in the Jiva Jewellery showroom in Patna’s Danapur locality on January 31 this year.
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