Robbers held hours after looting a bank in Bihar

The gang looted over ₹17 lakh at gunpoint and shot at a vendor, who caught one of the robbers near the bank.

The Bihar police on Friday arrested four people hours after they allegedly robbed a bank in broad daylight at a busy market in Muzaffarpur, an officer said. ₹16.71 lakh looted from the bank were recovered from the four along with three firearms, two blank, and 17 live cartridges.

Police said they were tipped off about the presence of the robbers in Patna as they had gathered to distribute the looted money among themselves. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The gang looted over ₹17 lakh at gunpoint and shot at a vendor, who caught one of the robbers near the bank.

The robbery came a day after robbers shot a trader in his head after looting ₹70,000 from him in Muzaffarpur on Thursday night and prompted chief minister Nitish Kumar to summon Bihar police chief and order him to solve the case immediately.

Rathin Das, the bank manager, said the armed men barged into the bank and made everyone there stand in one place, and carried out the robbery.

Additional director general of police S M Khopde said they were tipped off about the presence of the robbers in Patna as they had gathered to distribute the looted money among themselves.

He identified the four alleged robbers as Nitish Kumar Mahto, Rahul Mahto, Rahul Kumar Roy, and Sudhir Sharma.

Police were looking for others involved in the crime. Investigators said the four took to robbery because they were unable to find jobs. They have confessed to committing other robberies as well, they added.

The police team that solved the case in less than eight hours will get a cash reward.