Chhattisgarh Police crack Rs 5.62-crore bank robbery in Raigarh, arrest 5 Bihar gang members

Raigarh: With the arrest of five members of the Bihar-based Sherghati gang, the Raigarh police in Chhattisgarh on Wednesday claimed to have solved the Rs 5.62-crore robbery that took place at a leading private bank's branch in the city a day ago.

The robbers, who had attacked and injured the bank's manager and held its staffers hostage, were arrested from Balrampur district of the state and brought here, he added.

The arrested were identified as Rakesh Kumar Gupta (22), Rahul Kumar Singh (22), Amarjeet Kumar (24), Pankaj Kumar Mahto alias Rajesh Das alias Nishant (32) and Upendra Singh (50), all hailing from Bihar, Bilaspur (Range) Inspector General of Police Ajay Kumar Yadav said.

Amarjeet Kumar and Mahto were involved in loot, abduction, theft and other cases in Bihar while the three others were involved in similar crimes in many other states, he said.

Efforts were on to nab other criminals involved in the crime, he added.

The entire looted booty -- Rs 4.19 crore in cash and 2.9kg mortgaged gold ornaments valued at Rs 1.43 crore -- along with a country-made rifle, a pistol, a motorcycle, a car, a truck, face masks and several keys used in the crime were recovered from the robbers, the IGP said.

At 9.30 am on Tuesday, seven robbers barged into the Jagatpur branch of Axis Bank located near Dimrapur Chowk under Kotwali police station limits in Raigarh city and held the staff hostage in a room, he said.

They attacked the bank manager with a sharp weapon on his thigh while demanding keys to the locker room. The miscreants fled after looting cash and gold ornaments, added the IPS officer.

The police investigation revealed the robbers had decamped with Rs 4,19,46,000 in cash and 2.917 kg of mortgaged gold ornaments worth around Rs 1,42,09,170. The value of the looted cash and gold ornaments was estimated to be Rs 5,62,55,170, he said.

The police registered a case in this regard and started a probe, Yadav added.

A special team was constituted to arrest the accused. Also, the police in adjoining districts and neighbouring Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar were also informed about the incident and their help was sought to nab the criminals, he said.

Based on technical analysis of CCTV footage, the police learnt that the suspected robbers moved in a motorcycle with a fake registration number for two to three times from the bank premises to Dimarpur.

The police found the same motorcycle from a deserted place in Banhar Nahar village and said it was stolen from Jharkhand.

During the investigation, the police learnt the robbers were spotted in a car in another CCTV footage of a toll plaza in Balrampur district, said the senior officer.

The Balrampur police intercepted the car at a check post and nabbed two robbers. The duo told the police three of their associates were travelling with the looted cash and gold ornaments in a separate truck behind their car, he said.

The police intercepted the truck, but two of its occupants managed to escape while the driver, their accomplice, was caught, said Yadav.

Later on, the police managed to nab the duo from a passenger bus, bringing the number of arrests to five, he said.

A case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act was lodged against the accused and further probe was on, the IGP said.