Five armed men loot ornaments worth Rs 4 crore, Rs 10 lakh cash from bank in Giridih

Bokaro: Five armed men looted gold jewellery worth Rs 3 crore to Rs 4 crore and Rs 10 lakh in cash in broad daylight from a UCO Bank branch in Giridih’s Dhanwar Bazaar on Thursday. The miscreants held bank staff and customers at gunpoint for 20 minutes before fleeing with the valuables. They also took DVR boxes attached to CCTV with them. The branch is located less than 200 metres from Dhanwar police station.“Raids are underway to arrest the robbers,” Giridih SP Bimal Kumar said. However, police sources claimed one of the miscreants was arrested in Bansidih in Jamua area of the district late in the night.Rahul Kumar Gaur, branch manager, said the men entered the bank around 1:40 pm. Three staffers, a contractual employee and two customers were present. One of them wore a helmet and the rest followed wearing masks. One of them entered Gaur’s office at gunpoint while the others took employees and customers hostage. They threatened people with firearms and forced them to gather at one place inside a room and tied their hands and mouths with plastic tape.“The criminals then targeted the bank locker and collected the gold jewellery and cash kept inside. After the heist, they fled after locking the bank’s main entrance from outside, leaving employees and customers trapped inside. Gold ornaments and jewellery about 3-4 crores and 10 lakh currency has been looted,” said manager Gaur.Mohammad Mehtab, who had visited the bank to deposit Rs 20,000, said the criminals immediately took everyone hostage after entering the premises. They also demanded money from him. When he resisted, the robbers allegedly assaulted him. Those trapped inside raised an alarm. Locals responded and opened the lock.A police team led by Khorimahua SDPO Amarendra Kumar reached the spot and began a probe. While CCTV footage was scanned, police personnel also spoke to the employees and customers.Stay updated with the latest Ranchi news. Download the TOI App.