Singrauli (Madhya Pradesh) [India], April 19 (ANI): More than Rs 15 crore worth of gold and cash was looted from a Bank of Maharashtra branch in Baidhan area of Singrauli district by five armed accused individuals, police said, adding that two accused have been detained while search operations are underway to trace the remaining suspects.
According to officials, the robbery took place on Friday afternoon when five masked men entered the bank and fled with around 10 kilograms of gold and approximately Rs 35 lakh in cash. The total value of the stolen items is estimated to be around Rs 15.35 crore. The incident triggered panic in Singrauli and also drew attention at the state level.
Singrauli Superintendent of Police Manish Khatri told ANI that police teams have been deployed across multiple states to trace the remaining accused.
“We have achieved a preliminary breakthrough so far. Police teams have been deployed across various states; we will provide further updates as soon as any new information becomes available,” he said.
Police formed 10 special teams under the direction of Rewa Zone Special Director General Anil Kumar and IG Gaurav Rajput to investigate the case and track down the suspects. One accused was rounded up with the assistance of Bihar Railway Police, while another suspect was also detained from Bihar, officials said.
Meanwhile, MP minister Sampatiya Uikey visited the district headquarters on Saturday morning and reviewed the situation with senior police officials, directing them to expedite the arrest of all accused.
“I express my gratitude to the Police officials for their swift and sensitive response to a critical situation in the city, which is located at the border of four states: Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar… The Police utilised camera footage to identify and apprehend the perpetrators within 24 hours. We are working diligently to avoid such incidents in the future,” she said.
She further said that all five suspects have been identified and two have already been detained from Bihar.
“I am confident that all five suspects will be caught soon. We are continuously discussing with the administration to ensure such an incident does not happen again,” she added.
Further investigation into the robbery is underway. (ANI)