Jamshedpur Bank robbery: Police clueless, focus on CCTV footage

Jamshedpur,Aug 19: Even after 24 hours of robbery that took place at the Bank of India’s Ulidih branch in Mango on Thursday, the police are clueless about the criminals involved in the daring act. The criminals had decamped with Rs 35 lakhs. Apart from the cash, the robbers took away gold ornaments kept in the lockers.

The police have also decided to review the effectiveness of the CCTV cameras installed inside and outside the banks so that the police may get clear footage of the suspected criminals involved behind any incident of crime.

Senior SP, Prabhat Kumar said that the criminals have decamped with Rs 33.5 lakhs beside stock of gold jewellery from the bank’s Ulidih branch. We are trying to detect the case. He pointed out that today is a bank holiday, and the extent of gold ornaments lost is yet to be estimated by the bank management.

Meanwhile, senior superintendent of police, who is monitoring the probe into the robbery case has instructed the officers-in-charge of all the police stations in the city to ensure an enhanced patrolling around the commercial apartments, surprise checking of all mode of vehicles and regular monitoring the CCTV cameras installed on the main thoroughfares as well as the roads leading to the residential apartments.

“One police officer from the police station concerned would keep an eye on the movement of constables deployed at different places under the system,” a police official informed. These constables would keep an eye on suspicious elements moving at night and check them.

The Steel City is fast transforming into ‘crime city’ with one or other shootout incident or loot and snatching taking place every alternate day on an average. All the claims of the police department have failed to impress upon the denizens who have been witnessing daylight criminal incidents at regular intervals for the past few weeks. Concerned over the situation, the police have started random checking of bikes, beefing up security in and outside the bank premises, centralising the patrol vehicles to the police control room and keeping vigil at checking points at the exit points in the city.

A gang of armed criminals had swooped over the bank housed on the first floor of a multi-storeyed building and decamped with cash at gunpoint.

The criminals who had covered their faces with masks. According to sources, the BoI’s Ulidih branch had an armed security guard till July 31, but from August 1 the bank was running without a security guard as the contract for keeping the guard was over.

According to knowledgeable sources, the robbery at the Ulidih-based bank was committed by a gang of professional criminals.