BHOPAL: A major heist at a bank by five helmet wearing men has stunned the police establishment in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh.
The heist by the five men, one of whom had a firearm tucked under his belt, reportedly happened within just 18 minutes on Monday morning at the ESAF Small Finance Bank in Khitola area of rural Jabalpur.
The 18 minutes incident led to the robbing of around 14 kg gold and Rs 5 lakh cash – totalling over Rs 10 crore. “Multiple teams have been constituted and an alert also sounded in adjoining districts also, to track and nab the robbers,” Jabalpur district police superintendent Sampat Upadhyaya told TNIE.
The early morning robbery which was caught on the CCTV cameras, happened at the bank, which didn’t have a security guard. Five to six staffers were present in the bank at the time of the robbery by the five men, who came on motorcycles.
Surprisingly, the incident was informed to the local police by the bank staffers, around 45 minutes after the robbery.
As per police sources, the police are working on various angles in the case, including possibility of any insider involvement, as it seems that the robbers were well aware of the lack of security there.
The concerned bank gave loans against mortgaged gold. The bank usually starts operations daily at 10.30 am, but due to the festive season, it is currently opening daily between 8 am and 9 am.
Primary investigations have revealed that the robbers entered the bank one by one and threatened to shoot the staffers if they interrupted the robbery.