In what is believed to be the biggest heist in city, at least four masked and armed intruders after a 10-minute operation decamped with gold and cash worth over Rs 10 crore from a financial company branch here under Lalbagh police station on Thursday morning. Quoting India Infoline Finance Limited (IIFL) staffs, police said intruders held captive staffs in a room at gunpoint and fled away with booty after breaking open cash and gold lockers. “Four men with their faces covered with masks, entered into office along with our staffs at around 9.45 am when office shutter was opened for day’s work. Soon, intruders pulled out guns from their bags and asked staffs to get inside a room as they downed shutters from inside.
Forcibly snatching locker keys, they decamped with cash bundles and gold bags,” said IIFL branch manager Satyabrata Pradhan. Pradhan said company trades in loans and finances against gold catering retail and corporate clients; and after checking accounts, exact amount cash and gold “Initial estimates peg the loot to be over Rs 10 crore,” he said, adding that robbers had come by two motorcycles and fled by same two-wheelers. “They were speaking in Hindi and Odia languages,” he added. Police in meantime began conducting several raids after sealing city’s both entry and exit points.