Alert locals foiled a loot attempt by a robber at State Bank of India (SBI) Balianta branch on the outskirt of Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.
According to sources, the miscreant executed the loot by brandished a toy gun to the bank staff during the closing hours of the bank.
The robber was sitting inside the branch for several hours. He pulled out a toy gun when the staff started closing the bank and demanded cash. The robber grabbed Rs 8.32 lakh cash and gold ornaments and rushed out of the bank, sources added.
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The robber has been identified as Shankar Parida and hails from Balianta area. He attacked two of the four bank employees and decamped with the cash and gold.
However, alert locals chased the robber and nabbed him in a nearby field and recovered the cash and gold ornaments from him. Later he was handed over to the police.
A few days earlier, an ATM loot bid was foiled in Bhubaneswar's Old Town area. Police caught hold the thieves on August 25 while they were trying to loot money from a State Bank of India ATM located at Badhei Banka square in Old Town under Lingaraj Police limits.
The looters used a simple device, which they plug into the teller machine, to block cash from getting dispensed. After the customer leaves the kiosk without cash, the thieves collected the money after removing the blocking device.
(Edited By Rashmi Ranjan Mohanty)