Armed miscreants looted about Rs 10 lakh from a Gramya Bank branch at Kamarda in Baleswar district near West Bengal border on Tuesday afternoon. Besides, they robbed two customers, including a woman, of Rs 21,600, who were present in the bank premises.
Eyewitnesses said the robber gang comprised four members and after creating a terror while looting, they fled in two bikes. Informed, the police rushed to the place and launched a manhunt to nab the culprits. They had yet to get any breakthrough in the case.Baleswar SP S Pravin Kumar, who was present at the site, said, “We are yet to receive any formal FIR from the bank. However, the police have started a suo motto investigation.” He suspected that the miscreants might have fled to West Bengal but could not speak anything about the age, language and other details of the looters.
According to the eyewitnesses, the looters barged into the bank at about 1.30 pm. One of them had worn a helmet; the rest without any headgear. All of them were armed. Soon, they threatened the branch manager and cashier at gun point and took away the keys of the bank locker. The branch’s regular manager was on leave. The goons snatched away the acting branch manager’s cell phone and smashed it by hitting on the ground.
The locals said since West Bengal border was just one km from Kamarda branch, the miscreants could have escaped through the route. This is the second incident of Gramya bank loot in Baleswar district and the third incident in north Odisha within last three months. On February 14 last, unknown miscreants had looted about Rs 3 lakh from a branch at Nizampur under Sadar police station limits. Similarly, on April 9, another heist involving Rs 10 lakh had taken place at a Gramya Bank branch in Mayurbhanj district. Notably, in the present case, the bank did not have any security guards.