Out of Rs8.5 lakh looted from SBI Ketat branch in Palamu’s Rehla on October 6 the police on Thursday recovered Rs1.5 lakh. Police also nabbed four robbers allegedly involved in this case so far, said DSP Heeralal Ravi. Apart from recovering the amount the police have nabbed the mastermind and three others in this case. Police also recovered the bike used in this bank robbery.
According to Ravi the kingpin of the bank loot was Shyam Raj Sharma who is now in police net. Police recovered one 7.62 bore pistol and five cartridges from Sharma. Sharma was remanded in judicial custody on Thursday. The DSP told The Pioneer that Sharma has a string of bank dacoities to his name; FIRs against him for bank dacoity in 2008, 2010 and 2015. He has also Arms Act case filed against him.
Ravi also said that Sharma’s arrest led to the arrest of two more of his accomplices identified as Rahul Kumar Sharma and Saurav Ram. The trio were arrested on Wednesday in Bansdeeh area under Chainpur police station. Police recovered Rs1 lakh from Sharma and his two accomplices. Asked as to how police can vouch that this Rs1 lakh is of the looted cash of SBI DSP Ravi said that there was a bank note slip on the wad which reads SBI Ketat and so there is no iota of doubt left now in this regard.
Ravi also said that Rs50,000 was recovered earlier in this case wherein a bank robber had got a Term Deposit Receipt (TDR) in his wife’s name in a Vananchal Gramin Bank in Polpol. Police got the TDR terminated in order to get back the amount. DSP said with the arrest of Sharma the bank robbery case stands fully cracked.