MP Singrauli bank robbery: A band of five unidentified armed men executed a brazen daylight robbery at the Bank of Maharashtra in Madhya Pradesh’s Singrauli district on Friday noon, the police said. As per police, the accused assaulted the branch manager after storming the bank, held the staff hostage for 15 minutes, and fled with Rs 20 lakh in cash along with 10 kilograms of gold, collectively valued at Rs 15 crore.
The incident has sent a wave of panic across the city.
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People gather at the bank post-incident[/caption]
Incident unfolds at 1 pm, accused brandish firearms
According to police, the incident took place at around 1 pm on Friday at the Baidhan branch of the Bank of Maharashtra, when the group stormed the bank premises. They allegedly brandished firearms, and took the staff, as well as the customers hostage. Moreover, they also fired a gunshot to intimidate the people present at the branch before executing the robbery within a span of merely 15 minutes.
MP Singrauli bank robbery: Gold pledged by customers falls in robbers’ kitty
Police officials said that the accused robbed as much as 10 kilograms of gold belonging to the customers who had pledged it with the bank in exchange for loans. The valuables had been stored in a single locker, which fell under the robbers’ scanner.
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Police personnel inspecting the crime scene[/caption]
If the police are to be believed, the gang arrived with backpacks and a large cloth bag, which they used to collect the gold and approximately Rs 20 lakh in cash before fleeing the scene.
2 members of gang assault manager
An eyewitness named Ashish Pandey told the police that initially, two armed men entered the bank and assumed control, holding employees at gunpoint. Within minutes, they were joined by three of their accomplices, and the gang escalated the situation.
Singrauli’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Manish Khatri said that the robbers demanded keys to the cash reserves and details of the locker from the bank manager. When he refused to provide the same, they assaulted him brutally and even struck his head with a pistol butt. Khati added, “They held staff and customers hostage, forced open the locker and fled with the valuables.”
Cops seal city’s exit points, launch manhunt
In the aftermath of the incident, police sealed all exit points across Singrauli and began sifting through the CCTV footage from the bank, as well as the nearby areas to identify the perpetrators. A forensic team from Rewa has also been roped in for probe. As per preliminary findings, one suspect wore a helmet while the faces of the other culprits were uncovered.
The accused have been caught on CCTV footage from a nearby shop, which shows three of them speeding away on a bike towards Baidhan town. Reportedly, a country-made revolver may have been dropped by one of the accused, which has been seized by the cops.
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A CCTV footage grab, in which 3 accused are seen fleeing on a bike[/caption]
Senior police officials, politicians rush to spot
On receipt of the information, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister (CM) Dr Mohan Yadav directed the local MLA, Ramniwas Shah to visit the site. He rushed to the scene and spoke to the staff regarding the incident. Meanwhile, senior police officials, including Inspector General (IG), Saket Prasad Pandey also reached the spot.
Director General of Police (DGP) of MP, Kailash Makwana, is en route to the district from Bhopal. According to reports, the cops have also sought assistance from neighbouring states, including Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh, to trace and apprehend the culprits.
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