Using two air pistols, two miscreants covering their faces robbed Rs 5.72 lakh from UCO Bank branch of at Bagh Mughalia in daylight on Wednesday. They managed to flee on foot easily with cash.

Superintendent of police Bhopal (South) Anshuman Singh said that in the initial investigation it was found that the two miscreants reachedt he branch walking and locked the bank staff inside the

bank after the robbery, before escaping the spot.

The incident took place at around 5 pm when the bank was nearing closure. Ironically, no security guard is deployed at the branch. All the employees were locked inside a room and the two removed all the cash from the cash counter, he added.

Singh further said that the two miscreants appeared in the video footage of the CCTV cameras installed at the bank and more footage would be searched during further investigation. Teams have been formed and the search operation has been intensified to nab the robbers.

The most important clue could be provided by someone who was present outside the bank at the time of the incident, as the miscreants escaped the bank walking and it was found that they have not used any vehicle in the crime which suggests that the miscreants have properly conducted recce of the bank and nearby areas.

The nearby CCTV footages and locals could help in the investigation, claimed the police. All the police stations were alerted after the robbery and the concerned agencies swung into action and started the investigation.

During the investigation it was found that the two masked men entered the bank having air pistols and one air pistol was recovered by the police.

The Assistant Manager of the bank M Jyotsana was speaking over the phone when the two miscreants entered the bank and shouted that they did not want to harm anybody, but wanted only cash. They locked the five employees including four women inside a room and collected the cash from the cash counter in a bag they had brought and left the place.  After the miscreants fled, two of the victim employees Shalini Prajapati and Virendra Rai broke the glass pane and opened the door. Rai raised alarm and informed police. A woman with her child was passing at the time of the incident opened the main gate of the bank after the incident, but nothing could be revealed by her as she came after the miscreants escaped the spot.

The cash collected during the day was targeted by the accused but the police have claimed that they were not able to take all the cash at the

cash counter. The police have registered a case of robbery and have started further investigation.