Jewellery worth Rs 1 cr, Rs 15 lakh cash looted from Bargarh bank

Bargarh: In a broad daylight robbery, eight armed looters robbed Rs 15 lakh in cash and gold jewellery worth more than Rs 1 crore from the State Bank of India, Ruchida branch located in the town yesterday.

The incident occurred at 1.15 pm when there were few customers in the bank. Two youths wearing helmets and carrying bags entered the bank followed by four youths in two phases. They threatened the bank staff and customers at gunpoint. One more joined the looters and guarded the entrance of the bank.

The seven looters, who were speaking in Hindi and Koshali languages, took the staff to the cash room and asked them to fill the gunny bags with cash and valuables. After the gunny bags were stuffed with cash and jewellery, the eight looters fled the spot. The whole incident has been captured in the CCTV cameras.

Police, scientific team and dog squad have reached the spot and started a probe. Five special teams have been formed to nab the looters.

“At present, the investigation is on. We have yet to find out how much jewellery and cash have been looted,” B. Jugal Kumar, Bargarh SP, told newsmen.

Odisha Police have also sought help from the Chhattisgarh Police to catch the looters suspecting they might have slipped into the neighbouring state, said police sources.