Sundaragada: A 21-year-old college student was arrested along with two associates while allegedly attempting to rob a bank at gunpoint in Sundaragada district, police said.
The accused, identified as Gaurab Majhi, a +3 student of Bhedabahal College, was apprehended from the Kandabahal branch of Odisha Grameen Bank under Sundaragada Sadar police station limits. Police also arrested his two associates, Akash Kisan and Ravi Kisan, both from Rengali in neighbouring Sambalpur district, and detained a minor in connection with the case.
According to police, the accused allegedly attempted to enter the bank by breaking the glass of a rear window while employees were counting cash inside. Brandishing a country-made pistol, he threatened to kill the employees if they failed to open the door.
However, bank manager Smrutiprabha Maharana alerted the police, following which joint teams from Town, Sadar and Bhasma police stations cordoned off the area and apprehended the accused within an hour.
During interrogation, police uncovered the accused’s alleged involvement in an earlier robbery at the same bank. On September 7, Majhi, wearing a mask and armed with a country-made pistol, had allegedly looted Rs 2,82,570 from the Kandabahal branch before fleeing. He had reportedly shared a portion of the stolen money with his associates.
Police said Majhi, a resident of Bhursidanda village under Lefripada police station limits, was staying at a private hostel in Kandabahal for his studies.
Preliminary investigation revealed that he had borrowed a camera from a friend and subsequently rented it out to another person, who allegedly fled without returning it. Faced with a liability of Rs 50,000 for the missing camera, Majhi allegedly decided to rob the bank to arrange the money.
The police have seized a country-made pistol, a face mask and clothes allegedly used in the commission of the crimes. Further investigation is underway.
