BARIPADA: In a daring heist, five robbers struck the State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Mayurbhanj’s Bahalda and looted Rs 20 lakh at gunpoint after assaulting the bank staff on Thursday morning.
The branch manager and staff suffered injuries when they tried to offer resistance. They were later hospitalised.
The robbery took place around 10 am, a little after the bank had opened for the day’s operation. In the next 30 minutes time, the criminals had completed the robbery and fled before police could even get a whiff of the incident.
According to Bahalda police, the five entered the bank just after it opened for the day. All of the robbers had their helmets on and they behaved like customers so as not to arouse suspicion.
There were about 18 to 20 persons inside the bank at that time. While one of the five robbers approached the branch manager, another associate reached the cash counter even as the rest circulated in the branch.
The robber who had approached the branch manager pulled out a pistol from his pocket and pointed at the officer. The second associate followed suit and asked the cashier to take out all the cash. Police said the cashier had no other option but to present all the cash available at the teller counter as well as in the cash chamber. The rest three associates warned the customers present in the branch not to raise any alarm.
Within the next half an hour, the five who conversed in Hindi completed the loot. However, when the branch manager and a staff protested, the gang attacked them. After collecting the cash, the five escaped from the area. There was no security guard present at the branch when the incident took place.
Inspector in-charge of Bahalda police station Jagannath Munda said, the branch had carried out transactions to the tune of Rs 7 lakh when the robbery took place and in total, Rs 20 lakh was robbed. The criminals are believed to have headed towards neighbouring Jharkhand.