Robbers loot gold worth over Rs 14 crore, Rs 5 lakh cash from bank branch in Jabalpur

Jabalpur, Aug 11 (PTI) In a daring heist, five robbers looted 14.875 kg of gold valued at more than Rs 14 crore and Rs 5 lakh cash from a small finance bank's branch in Khitola area of Jabalpur district on Monday morning, police said.

The branch was without a security guard when the robbers struck and the entire heist took less than 20 minutes just after the bank had opened for business for the day, they said.

The robbers decamped with 14.875 kg of gold kept in the locker and Rs 5 lakh cash from the branch of the small finance bank in Sehore tehsil, about 50km from the district headquarters, Jabalpur rural area additional superintendent of police Suryakant Sharma told reporters here.

The heist took just 18 minutes, Jabalpur Range Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Atul Singh said, adding the robbers came on two motorcycles and entered the branch of ESAF Small Finance Bank wearing helmets.

"The bank branch did not have a security guard. There were six staffers at the time of the incident. The robbers entered the branch at 8.50 am and came out at 9.08 am. They fled on motorcycles. We have scanned CCTV cameras. They did not have weapons in their hands. One of the robbers had a firearm tucked under his belt," Singh said.

The DIG pointed out that the bank staffers notified police 45 minutes after the incident following discussions with superior officials.

"Had they informed us in time, the robbers would have been caught. Efforts were on to nab the accused," Singh added.

According to sources, the bank started its day at 8am instead of its usual opening time of 10:30am due to the ongoing festive season. PTI LAL BNM RSY