Jamshedpur: Armed criminals carried out a daring daylight robbery at a branch of Canara Bank in the Sakra area of Baharagora, under East Singhbhum district, and fled with around ₹15 lakh on Tuesday afternoon, police said.
According to officials, five to six masked robbers arrived at the bank around 2 p.m. on three motorcycles. Four of them entered the bank while the others stood guard outside.
The criminals brandished country-made pistols and sharp weapons and threatened employees and customers. They snatched mobile phones from everyone present to stop them from alerting the police.
The robbers then held Assistant Branch Manager Saurabh Verma at gunpoint and ordered him to open the lockers. However, the rural branch did not have locker facilities. Enraged, the criminals snatched Verma’s gold chain and ring.
They later looted about ₹15 lakh from the cash counter and cash room and stuffed the money into a bag before escaping.
Before fleeing, the robbers locked the main gate from outside, trapping the bank employees and customers inside. Police later reached the spot, broke open the lock and rescued them.
Eyewitnesses said the robbers spoke in Bengali while issuing threats in Hindi. After leaving the bank, they threw the seized mobile phones into a nearby field to delay any attempt to trace them.
During the robbery, the criminals also tried to take away the bank’s internet device, mistaking it for a hard disk. However, Branch Manager Nanaji Rao managed to secure the actual hard disk, preventing the loss of important data.
After receiving the alert, Ajit Kumar Kujur, Ghatsila DSP, reached the bank with a police team and launched an investigation.
Police have begun examining CCTV footage from the bank and nearby areas to identify and track down the criminals.
