A robbery at Axis Bank in Ara, Bihar, on Wednesday resulted in the theft of 16.5 lakh rupees in 14 minutes. Police surrounded the building after receiving reports of the robbery, but the criminals had escaped before they arrived.
Five criminals entered the Axis Bank at Bajaj Mor in Ara at around 10:15 am on Wednesday, posing as customers. They closed the shutter from the inside, held 12 staff members hostage, and snatched their cellphones. They beat up 10 employees and locked them in the canteen.
A customer managed to escape during the commotion. The criminals were scared and were unable to loot the lockers. They fled with 16.5 lakh rupees that were kept on the counter. All of the criminals are between the ages of 18 and 20. A staff member who had hidden his cellphone in the canteen called the police to report the robbery.
About 15 minutes later (at 10:30 am), SP Pramod Kumar and more than 150 police personnel arrived at the scene. The Special Task Force of the Bhojpur Police was also called in. Police surrounded the bank from all sides. Some policemen took positions on the roof with rifles and pistols.
For 30 minutes, the police made announcements from outside the bank, urging the criminals to surrender. A team of policemen broke the lock on the shutter of the bank and entered inside. The canteen was four feet away from the gate. The employees were rescued from there.
Mirza, an employee who came out of the bank, said that there were 7 to 8 criminals inside. All of them were armed. He said that two of their staff members were still trapped inside.
Police personnel wearing bulletproof jackets entered the bank. They searched every room, but the criminals were nowhere to be found. The police found the bank manager locked up in the chamber and the guard in the bathroom.
SP Pramod Kumar said that when they rescued the hostages from inside the bank, they were told that the criminals were inside with weapons. The bank’s shutter was closed from outside by their employees. It took them a little time due to this rumor.
When the police team entered, the guard was found in the bathroom. He had locked the door from the inside. He told the police that the criminals had beaten him up. He ran into the bathroom and locked the door from the inside. Meanwhile, the bank manager was taken with the criminals to open the locker, but as soon as a customer ran away, the manager was locked in his chamber. The customer who ran away from the bank did not come even after the police arrived.
SP Pramod Kumar said that two criminals entered the bank first, posing as customers to open an account. They held everyone hostage at gunpoint. They stole 13 lakh rupees from the counter of the bank and 3.5 lakh rupees deposited by a customer. The criminals are between the ages of 18 and 20. Their photos and footage have been received by us. The police are conducting raids to nab the criminals.
