Palamu: In Palamu, criminals committed bank robbery on Friday. As soon as the bank opened, the criminals entered inside and looted more than Rs 5 lakh at gunpoint and fled. The incident took place in the branch of Jharkhand State Gramin Bank located in Padwa police station area, just 15 kilometres away from the district headquarters.
According to Sources, out of the five dacoits, four had entered the bank as soon as it opened. A robber was keeping an eye on the activities happening outside the bank. The employees and a customer present in the bank were taken hostage at gunpoint. There were two female and two male bank employees in the bank when the incident occurred.
The criminals looted the bank, locked everyone in a room and fled. Police reached the spot after receiving the information and started an investigation. All police stations have been instructed to increase surveillance on national and state highways. Police are also busy checking the vehicles.
The criminals have damaged the CCTV cameras installed in the bank and also taken away the DVR. In such a situation, identification of robbers is the biggest challenge before the police. Police are scanning the CCTV cameras installed around the bank.
The dacoits had arrived on three bikes to carry out the incident. Two people were riding on two bikes, while a criminal was riding on one bike. After the incident, two criminals riding on a bike went towards Madhuri forest of Padwa, while a criminal riding on a bike ran towards Medini Nagar.
Bank manager Abhishek Kumar Tiwari said that there was a robbery of Rs 5.5 lakh. Of the four criminals who entered the bank, three had weapons. Two were wearing helmets. Whereas one robber had covered his head with a towel. The criminals had also brought bags with them to carry the cash.