In a broad daylight incident, a gang of armed criminals looted Rs 35 lakhs from Bank of India’s Ulidih branch in Mango on Thursday morning. Covering their faces with masks, about half-a-dozen criminals were involved in the incident that spread fear in the area.
The robbers also took the bank officials as well as the customers hostage before decamping with the cash. The sensational robbery took place at the Bank of India’s branch located on Dimna Road at busy hours like 10.30 am. The area remains busy with people throughout the day.
The criminals swooped over the bank posing as customers but had covered their faces with masks while committing the robbery.
A police official said that it seemed to be a child's play for the gang of robbers. They simply walked up to the cashier, pointed a gun at him, grabbed the cash and fled. In fact, within a few minutes, they were out of the bank and on the busy main road. They reportedly escaped. No one even put up any resistance.
The robbers also snatched mobile phones from all those inside the premises and subsequently drove them all into a room. Soon they collected the entire stock of cash from the cash section and fled the scene.
The criminals executed the robbery in such swiftness that none of the bank officials could do anything to alert the police. The management of the branch had informed the police only after the robbers had fled the spot.
The OC of Ulidih police station, Meghnath Mandal, who was first to reach the spot, confirmed the robbery.
“As per the initial information gathered. There has been a robbery in the Bank of India’s branch here. We estimate Rs 35 lakhs to have been looted,” said Mandal. The OC said they are trying to scan CCTV footage of the crime scene to detect the case.
Soon after senior police officers, SSP Prabhat Kumar and City SP, K Vijay Shankar reached the spot and started investigating the incident. The police have also started a frantic search operation having sealed the exit points of the city.
“It’s really a shocking incident. Looting money from the bank's door step is definitely a daring act as there were so many people coming and going out of the bank," said the official.
Describing the criminals involved in the loot, the police said one of the criminals was shot.
"Investigation is on and we have sealed the entire city and set up arms-checking at a number of places. Apart from this we are raiding the hideouts in Mango, and Chandil. We understand that the criminals had been following the bank closely before committing the loot," said the police officer.