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₹5.7 crore gold, cash robbed from bank in MP’s Singrauli; one suspect arrested from Bihar
₹5.7 crore gold, cash robbed from bank in MP’s Singrauli; one suspect arrested from Bihar
Singrauli , Five masked gunmen barged into a public sector bank and took away gold and cash worth ₹5.7 crore in Madhya Pradesh's Singrauli district, following which one suspect was arrested from Bihar, officials said on Saturday.
Initially, police had said that only ₹14 lakh was robbed in the incident at a Bank of Maharashtra branch on Friday. The district in eastern MP borders Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
MP Director General of Police Kailash Makwana, who had rushed to Singrauli late on Friday night, told reporters in Bhopal that he had sought assistance from his peers in UP, Chhattisgarh and Bihar to trace the robbers.
He also announced a reward of ₹50,000 for information leading to their arrest.
Kotwali Station House Officer Ashok Singh Parihar said that one of the five suspects has been arrested from the Dehri area in Bihar's Rohtas district.
Five armed persons wearing masks stormed the bank premises in Singrauli on Friday and robbed gold jewellery and ₹20 lakh cash, collectively worth ₹5.7 crore, Superintendent of Police Manish Khatri told PTI.
The robbers threatened employees and customers at gunpoint and fired shots, and also assaulted some staff members and customers.
"One suspect pointed a pistol at the bank manager and demanded keys to the gold locker, slapped him and threatened to shoot when he did not comply immediately," said Khatri.
In tense moments that followed, the accused forced people to sit on the floor before fleeing with the valuables, according to police and eyewitnesses.
Khatri said the robbers took away ₹6 lakh from the strong room and ₹14.2 lakh from the cash counter, along with gold worth ₹5.5 crore. He said the gold was pledged against customer loans.
Footage from CCTV cameras showed that the robbers fled on two motorcycles towards Bijpur in Sonbhadra in UP and then entered the Surajpur district in neighbouring Chhattisgarh, the official said, adding one of the suspects was arrested in Bihar later.
The faces of three suspects have been captured on CCTV cameras, said police.
The bank remained closed on Saturday for customers as senior bank officials visited the premises.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
