Bargarh: Police arrested five robbers for allegedly looting a bank at Barpali in Bargarh district on Sunday.
According to reports, five miscreants entered the Utkal Grameen Bank at around 6:45 pm on Saturday. Armed with pistols and knives, they took the bank manager Rakesh Kumar Naik and other staff member hostage while they were working after the branch closed the transaction.
The robbers also looted three mobile phones from the staff. However, during the robbery, branch manager Rakesh activated the siren, forcing the robbers to flee.
The police responded to the siren and rushed to the bank immediately. They managed to arrest one of the robbers at the scene. Following a thorough investigation, the police apprehended the remaining suspects within three hours. They seized two pistols, knives, iron rods, chili powder, and two motorcycles from the group.
Speaking to the media, IG (NR) Himanshu Kumar Lal explained that the robbers were caught in less than 24 hours. The investigation revealed that the accused had turned to crime after suffering significant losses in online gaming, with one suspect losing Rs 12 lakh.
Bargarh SP Prahlad Sahai Meena, stated that a police team was patrolling nearby when the alarm went off. The team swung into action and caught one of the criminals.
“After questioning him, we were able to nab others within three hours,” Meena said.
