Bihar: Rs 12 lakh looted from PNB branch in Arwal, 4 criminals arrested

PATNA: A gang of five criminals looted Rs 12.40 lakh in cash from a Punjab National Bank (PNB) branch at Belkhara under Telpa police outpost in Arwal district around 10.21am on Friday. According to police, the robbers held the bank staff and customers hostage at gunpoint while committing the crime.
Police said the criminals entered the bank masquerading as customers soon after it opened in the morning and fled with the cash in just 10 minutes.The criminals also beat up the manager of the bank, Mintu Kumar, when he tried to resist.
Arwal SDPO Roushan Kumar said four other criminals, who were standing guard outside the bank, had been arrested an hour after the robbery. "Three pistols, 32 rounds of live cartridges and two motorcycles were recovered from the possession of the arrested criminals. Raids are being conducted to arrest those who entered the bank and looted cash. The arrested criminals are being interrogated," he added.
The SDPO said the criminals had entered the bank by overpowering the security guard. "At least 20 customers and seven employees were inside the bank when the incident occurred. The criminals walked up to the cash counter and suddenly pulled out pistols before holding the bank staff and customers hostage at gunpoint," he added.
According to police, one of the criminals asked the bank manager to hand over the keys of the locker. "When the bank manager refused to hand over the keys, the criminals attacked him with a rod. He was admitted to sadar hospital," the police added.
A bank employee said the criminals also took away the digital video recorders of the CCTV cameras. Arwal SP Himanshu Shankar Trivedi reached the bank soon after getting information along with senior police officers and started investigation.