On Wednesday, a daring broad daylight dacoity took place at a Union Bank branch in Chandaneswar, located in the Balasore district of India. The robbers, who were allegedly armed, looted an estimated sum of Rs 30 to Rs 40 lakh. It has been reported that a group of around 7 to 8 miscreants were involved in the bank robbery incident.
The incident occurred at around 1:20 pm, during which the miscreants posed as customers and entered the bank. According to sources, the robbers locked all the bank staff in a room before looting the cash and gold ornaments.
Upon receiving the reports, the police immediately rushed to the spot and rescued the bank staff by opening the locker room. The Jaleswar SDPO and Chandaneswar police officials have started investigating the matter. It is suspected that the robbers may have fled towards West Bengal after committing the crime.
How dacoity was done?
The robbery at the Union Bank branch in Chandaneswar, within the Talsari marine police limits, took place during the afternoon when both customers and staff were present in the bank. According to witnesses, the robbers, some of whom were masked, entered the bank pretending to be customers and took control of the branch at gunpoint. Once inside, three of the robbers locked the entrance and directed customers to sit in a corner. They also collected the mobile phones of both staff and customers and warned them not to move or raise an alarm.
The robbers then disconnected the power supply and snapped the CCTV camera cables inside the bank. Two of them went to the teller counter and demanded that the cashier hand over the money. When one of the staff refused to part with the locker keys, the robbers threatened him at gunpoint and even thrashed him.
The robbers reportedly spoke in Odia, Bengali, and Hindi during the 30-40 minute operation, and looted cash and jewellery from the locker room before leaving. A customer who witnessed the incident, Golak Pradhan, reported that the robbers locked the entrance gate from the outside as they fled.
Initial investigations suggested that between six to eight robbers were involved in the crime, all of whom arrived at the bank on two-wheelers, according to Balasore SP Sagarika Nath. IG (East) Himansu Lal, who rushed to the scene, said that teams have been formed to apprehend the miscreants, who may have fled towards the bordering areas. Following the incident, routes connected to West Bengal were sealed and a search for bikers and four-wheelers was initiated.