Lucknow witnessed a high-stakes drama early Sunday when a gang of robbers pulled off a meticulously planned heist at the Indian Overseas Bank in the Chinhat area. The gang made off with valuables worth crores before a swift police operation led to the arrest of three suspects following a dramatic gunfight. Four of their accomplices, however, remain at large.
The robbery unfolded around 4 a.m., straight out of a crime thriller. The gang, hailing from Bihar, broke into the bank’s strong room after cutting through the wires of the alarm system, rendering it silent. They moved with precision, suggesting a well-planned operation. By the time daylight revealed their audacious crime, they were already on the run, thinking they had left no trail.
But fate had other plans. Acting on a tip-off, the UP Police set up a checkpoint near Laulai’s water bridge. When two cars matching the suspects’ descriptions approached, officers signaled them to stop. Instead of complying, the robbers responded with gunfire, triggering a dramatic chase.
The intense exchange ended with one of the suspects, Arvind Kumar from Bihar’s Munger district, being shot in the leg. His dramatic plea for mercy with folded hands didn’t deter the police from taking him into custody. Two of his accomplices, Balrampur Kumar and Kailash Bind, were also nabbed.
From the trio, the police recovered Rs 3 lakh in cash, gold and silver jewellery, a country-made pistol, and spent cartridges. The remaining four gang members managed to flee, leaving the police on a relentless manhunt.
As investigators pieced together the crime, shocking security lapses at the bank came to light. No guards were stationed at the branch. Of the six CCTV cameras installed, only one captured usable footage, while others were poorly aligned. The robbers had entered through a vacant plot adjacent to the bank, bypassing the main entrance entirely.
Adding to the intrigue, the bank’s alarm system, supposedly designed to trigger at any tampering, stayed eerily silent. Whether it was faulty or intentionally disabled remains a question the police are determined to answer.
What is clear is that the robbers had done their homework. They knew the bank’s layout, the exact location of the locker, and the weaknesses in its security measures. Saturday night was strategically chosen, knowing the bank would remain closed on Sunday, giving them a head start to escape.
DCP East Shashank Singh praised the swift police action but acknowledged the challenges ahead. “The gang’s precise planning and execution show they are no amateurs. We are following all leads to apprehend the absconding members and recover the stolen assets,” he said.
As investigators comb through 50 nearby CCTV recordings, Lucknow residents are left intrigued by this cat-and-mouse chase. With four suspects still at large, the city waits for the final chapter of this real-life heist drama to unfold.
